Scaling Energy Communities: The Strategic Role of One-Stop Shops

Across Europe, energy communities are emerging as a powerful way for citizens, businesses, and local authorities to collectively produce, share, and manage renewable energy. Beyond reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, they strengthen the local fabric, build trust in the energy transition, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and their volatility, and create replicable models rooted in community benefit.

But turning this idea into reality is rarely straightforward. Technical requirements, regulatory frameworks, financing models, and stakeholder coordination can quickly become overwhelming.

This is where One-Stop Shops (OSS) come in.

Acting as trusted intermediaries, OSS provide a single entry point where citizens, municipalities, and businesses can access the guidance, expertise, and financial support needed to bring projects to life. By simplifying processes, reducing risks, and coordinating stakeholders, they turn fragmented ideas into concrete initiatives.

Energy Agencies are particularly well placed to lead these services. With their technical expertise, neutrality, and strong territorial networks, they turn ideas into viable projects, with robust governance strategies, tangible community benefits, and locally produced and shared renewable energy.

Across Europe, this model is already taking shape. From Plovdiv to Cádiz, Liguria to Ireland’s South East, Energy Agencies are using One-Stop Shops to transform early-stage ideas from citizen groups into coordinated collective action.

Plovdiv: Laying the groundwork 

In Bulgaria, energy communities are still in an early phase, but momentum is building.

The Energy Agency of Plovdiv is supporting their development through a One-Stop Shop approach focused on guidance, structuring, and stakeholder coordination.

Its services cover the full early-stage journey: identifying suitable pilots and technologies, assessing technical and financial feasibility, supporting decision-making, and helping assemble the right mix of stakeholders to launch an initiative. 

As a National Expert for the European Energy Communities Facility, the agency also plays a key role in connecting local actors to European support schemes and knowledge.

One example is the Gabrovo energy community, selected under the Facility’s first call. With support from EAP throughout the application process and capacity-building programme, the initiative is developing a citizen-led renewable energy model aimed at increasing local self-consumption, reducing energy costs, and strengthening community resilience. A 100 kWh solar park is already under construction. Energy community members include Gabrovo residents, citizens from other parts of Bulgaria, and six legal entities.

For EAP, energy communities represent a powerful social innovation, exploring diverse models, from solar communities to hybrid systems, while empowering citizens and supporting a fair and decentralised energy transition.

Cádiz: Scaling energy communities through local engagement

In Spain, energy communities are scaling rapidly thanks to a strong national support framework. Through IDAE’s Community Transformation Offices programme, backed by nearly €20 million in funding, dozens of OSS have been established across the country. One of these OSS is led by the Provincial Energy Agency of Cádiz.

At its core is a hybrid, multi-channel One-Stop Shop designed not just as a helpdesk, but as an active facilitator of local initiatives. Combining a central office, itinerant local presence, and digital tools, the service ensures accessibility across the entire territory  including rural areas. 

Its support follows a structured journey: from awareness-raising and initial diagnosis to tailored technical, legal, and financial guidance, and finally project consolidation. Crucially, it adapts its level of involvement to each initiative, offering anything from light-touch advice to full assistance.

The impact is tangible:

• 4 new energy communities created
• 3 existing initiatives strengthened
• Over 10 citizen-led groups supported
• More than 130 consultancy services delivered in a single year 

Beyond the numbers, one outcome stands out: trust. In a region where cooperative models are not yet deeply rooted, close, on-the-ground engagement has helped rebuild confidence in collective energy projects, turning hesitation into participation.

Liguria: Making energy communities accessible to all

In Italy, the Liguria Energy Agency (IRE) is embedding its One-Stop Shop within a broader national effort.

Launched in 2025, the service is part of RENOSS, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Environment coordinated by RENAEL, which is deploying 30 OSS across the country under a shared structure and approach.

Designed as a fully accessible and free service, it supports municipalities, SMEs, citizens, and associations in setting up renewable energy communities or joining existing ones.

Its digital platform plays a central role. Built around a clear Q&A structure, it allows users to quickly understand key concepts  from “What is a renewable energy community?” to “How can I join one?” before diving deeper into more detailed guidance.

Behind the interface, a dedicated team provides personalised support via email, phone, and in-person meetings when needed.

In less than a year, the OSS has already received over 70 requests, ranging from basic questions to more advanced technical enquiries. This early success highlights a key lesson: making information clear and accessible is often the first step to unlocking action.

South East Ireland: Connecting energy communities and retrofit

In Ireland, the South East Energy Agency is using its One-Stop Shop to connect energy communities with another critical priority: home energy upgrades.

While the South East Energy Agency OSS model provides end-to-end support for retrofit projects, from funding guidance to technical delivery, energy communities play an important role as a driver for collective action. By aggregating demand and engaging citizens at local level, they help make renovation projects more accessible and scalable.

A concrete example is the SCEPA pilot project in Ballymacarbry (County Waterford), where a 30 kW solar PV installation was deployed on the roof of a community centre building. The energy generated is shared with 15 nearby fuel-poor elderly households, providing them with discounted electricity while strengthening local solidarity.

Through its involvement in the EU Peers LIFE project, the agency is also contributing to a wider European effort to strengthen OSS models and share best practices.

Through the ongoing work of the South East Energy Agency, results are already visible:

• 108 Sustainable Energy Communities supported in the southeast region
• Targeted projects delivering benefits to local and vulnerable households
• A growing network of actors engaged in long-term renovation efforts 

A key lesson emerges: strong local presence, trust, and continuous support are essential to turning community interest into concrete projects, whether in renewable energy or renovation.

A model for empowering communities

From Bulgaria to Spain, Italy to Ireland, these examples show how Energy Agencies, through One-Stop Shops, are helping turn the concept of energy communities into reality.

By informing and engaging citizens, building local capacity, and lowering technical and organisational barriers, OSS make it possible for local actors to take an active role in the energy transition. At the same time, their experience highlights the importance of a supportive framework to help these initiatives grow and scale across Europe

One message stands out: when it comes to energy communities, One-Stop Shops act not just as a service, but as a bridge between ambition and real-world implementation. 

Access the One-Stop Shops map developed by the European Energy Communities Facility: https://energycommunitiesfacility.eu/resources/one-stop-shop