  Renewable energy communities (RECs) are prominent initiatives to provide end
consumers an active role in the energy sector, raise awareness on the
importance of renewable energy (RE) technologies and increase their share in
the energy system thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The economic
viability of RECs though, depends on multiple interdependent factors that
require careful examination for each individual context. This study aims at
investigating the impact of electricity tariffs, ratio of electrification of
heating and transportation sectors, prices of RE technologies and storage
systems, and internal electricity exchange prices on the annual cost for
electricity provision of a REC. A mixed-integer linear model is developed to
minimize energy provision costs for a representative REC in Flanders, Belgium.
The results indicate that RECs have the potential to reduce these costs by 10
to 26% compared to business-as-usual. This cost reduction depends on the type
of electricity tariffs and the level of uptake of flexible assets such as heat
pumps and electric vehicles. The shift towards a higher power component in the
electricity tariff makes electricity storage systems more attractive, which
leads to higher electricity self-consumption. The introduction of flexible
assets adds the possibility to shift demand when tariffs are lower and makes
larger sizes of photovoltaic systems economically viable due to the increase in
the total electricity demand. However, RECs cost reduction compared to
individual smart-homes amounts to only 4% - 6% in the best cases. Uncertainties
stemming from the regulation and the costs of setting up a REC may reduce the
estimated benefits.
