Storage for Energy Justice: The Role of Energy Communities in EU Law

Energy storage plays a crucial role in the decarbonization puzzle. Storing electricity facilitates the utilization of intermittent renewable energy sources, ensuring reliable availability while providing key grid services. Serving as a balance between energy supply and demand, storage contributes to the stability of both on-grid and off-grid networks. Moreover, storage can dramatically increase energy justice by ‘localizing’ sustainability while facilitating the implementation of inclusive policies. In this context, the concept of energy justice expands to encompass increased access to clean, affordable, and democratically managed energy, aligning with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals. Notably, within the European Union (EU), legislative frameworks pertaining to storage and energy communities have made considerable strides. However, these advancements have been reactive to distinct challenges, lacking a cohesive approach—notably, one incentivizing storage deployment within energy communities. While energy communities represent hubs of social innovation towards decarbonization, their widespread deployment and financing face regulatory hurdles. These regulatory barriers impede the deployment of renewable energy storage at scale and speed. Consequently, this article delves into strategies for enhancing the scalability of renewable energy storage within energy communities. In the absence of a comprehensive EU storage bill and EU-wide storage targets, this article advocates for a three-point agenda aimed at leveraging opportunities through finance, power, and innovation packages. By doing so, it highlights a unique opportunity to foster energy justice on a broader scale.