Building energy communities in one of Italy’s most vulnerable regions
Insights from Felipe Barroco, Modena Energy and Sustainability Agency
Community energyIn Campania, Italy, 200 households in social housing will soon have the opportunity to get their homes warm (or cool) and comfortable thanks to affordable renewable energy. Felipe Barroco from the Modena Energy and Sustainable Development Agency (AESS) has spent years working to empower energy-poor communities through renewable energy solutions. Leading the POWER UP project in Campania across four municipalities, he shares with us his motivations, challenges, and what keeps him hopeful.
Motivated to bring tangible change
Felipe trained as a lawyer in Brazil before moving to Italy for a PhD in energy and environment. “I came to study how European countries were implementing the Renewable Energy Directive,” he explains. His research quickly transitioned into hands-on involvement with energy communities.
Within POWER UP, his work addresses energy poverty by creating renewable energy communities (RECs) in Campania’s Vesuvian region. Around 11.5% of the population in the area is affected, according to the Italian Energy Poverty Observatory. “We saw an opportunity to make a tangible difference” in municipalities like San Giuseppe Vesuviano and Palma Campania, he says.
The four municipalities in the Vesuv area (San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Palma Campania, San Gennaro Vesuviano, and Striano), federated under an umbrella organisation called UCSA, are part of the EU-funded POWER UP project to address energy poverty through innovative governance and business models. As one of five pilots, Campania region is using participatory workshops and pilot projects as “living labs” to develop socially inclusive and efficient renewable energy generation for vulnerable families.
A rollercoaster
“One of our biggest challenges has been navigating the region’s socio-political instability,” Felipe says. The Italian REC legal framework was completed only in the spring of 2024, almost a year after the beginning of the project. Local governance issues, including the removal of a mayor for suspected mafia ties, further delayed project milestones. “It made the implementation particularly complex”, he adds.
Engaging the local population has also proven difficult. Initial workshops saw disappointingly low attendance from social housing residents despite outreach efforts like door-to-door invitations. “Out of 300 families identified as energy-poor, only a handful participated,” Felipe reflects. For many, energy, from production to distribution, and energy poverty as a distinct challenge, feel too abstract.
Infrastructure issues have also surfaced. “We found solar installations left unfinished or never connected to the grid,” Felipe recounts. “One system had been sitting idle for years due to missing cables,” he says. However, “with small investments, we’ve been able to reconnect some systems, which could now become part of new energy communities.”
“One of our biggest challenges has been navigating the region’s socio-political instability.”
Felipe Barroco, AESS
Hopeful advances
Amid these challenges, there are reasons to be optimistic. “Progress, though slow, is visible,” Felipe says. Recent workshops attracted up to 60 participants. “Involving local associations helped build trust and engagement. We saw greater interest when we focused on practical benefits, like saving on energy bills,” Felipe notes.
One particularly hopeful development is the plan to repurpose a confiscated mafia landfill into a 600-kilowatt solar installation. “This could support up to 400 families and show what’s possible when local resources are put to good use,” he says. Municipalities will launch a public-private partnership in the spring of 2025. His team provides technical support. Households will be able to join the REC for free and receive tangible benefits based on income levels. “Interest and participation will grow”, he predicts, and it will serve as a model for scaling renewable energy in the region.
The Bigger Picture
“If we could allocate even small funds to installing pilot systems in underserved areas, it would make an enormous difference”, Felipe says. They make the most difference. “Energy communities are about much more than renewables: they are about fairness, trust, and giving people the tools to change their circumstances,” Felipe says. POWER UP is already laying the groundwork for this transformation in one of Italy’s most vulnerable regions.
