10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16738
This text explores the theme of CERs (Renewable Energy Communities) and the implications related to their implementation in internal territories and in Minor Historical Centers, from the point of view of their compatibility with the conservation and protection of landscape and urban quality. The study, developed starting from a course of teaching and research collaboration conducted between the Department of Architecture and ENEA, focused on the identification of the legal, regulatory and socio-economic requirements necessary for the establishment of a CER, on the identification of best reference and on the elaboration of a meta-project proposal aimed at defining a virtuous process of accompaniment of local communities. The experience conducted has made it possible to highlight how the establishment of a CER represents an opportunity to enhance and relaunch the territories, which is difficult to circumscribe to the simple implementation of systems, which requires an adequate design approach oriented towards the regeneration and landscape and urban redevelopment.
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Elena Di Giuseppe
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Urbana
Technological design
RECs as a Tool for Urban and Environmental Regeneration. The Case of Roseto Valfortore
Text.Serial.Journal
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2024-01-25
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2024-01-25
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Urb
Elena Di Giuseppe
2024/01/25
10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16738
153
Department of architecture, Pescara
3034-8544
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Technological design
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RECs as a Tool for Urban and Environmental Regeneration. The Case of Roseto Valfortore
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                                                        URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024              153




RECs as a Tool for Urban and
Environmental Regeneration.
The Case of Roseto Valfortore
PEER REVIEWED


Antonio Basti

University of Chieti - Pescara

antonio.basti@unich.it

Monica Misceo

Italian National Agency for New Technology Energy and Sustainable
Economic Development

monica.misceo@enea.it

Elena Di Giuseppe 1

University of Chieti - Pescara

elena.digiuseppe@unich.it


1.        Introduction.
The “Renewable Energy Communities” (RECs) are now one of the most
current and effective models for pursuing the sustainability and urban
development goals set by the European Union in the UAEU “Urban
Agenda for the EU”2 which, details the operational framework, working
method, concrete actions and themes. A model based on a process of
green and digital transition of urban transformation policies, based on
the involvement of “local communities,” rethinking of administrative
arrangements, and “technological and energy transition.” This holistic
approach promotes cooperation among all actors in a given territory,
working to develop solutions designed to improve the quality of life for
citizens and favor the use of renewable, ecological, intelligent, efficient
and connected technologies.
Beginning with these premises, the text that follows examines the state-
of-the-art in this field, with specific reference to the European and Italian
contexts. The study gathers and analyses the most “relevant directives,
regulations, studies and best practices” currently available, with a focus

1
 Corresponding author.
2
 European Commission, The Urban Agenda for the EU, (2016a). Available                      online:
https://urbanagenda.urban-initiative.eu/urban-agenda-eu (accessed on May 30, 2023).


                                                                      Copyright 2024 The Author(s)
                                                  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16738                  Attribution 4.0 International License
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024           154



on the areas of action and characterizing factors of the different contexts
in which they can be applied.
In the wake of these studies, the focus of the text shifts to an “applied
experiment” at the scale of a meta-design project in the town of Roseto
Valfortore (FG), the object of a collaboration agreement with the local
office of ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and
Sustainable Economic Development), Energy efficiency Unit Department
of Bari, that confronts the implications on the landscape and urban
environment connected with the constitution of a REC.

2.       State of the Art.
The concept of RECs (Renewable Energy Communities) appears at the EU
level with the Renewable Energy Directive on the Promotion of the Use of
Energy from Renewable Sources (RED II)3 introducing the application to
Renewable Energy Communities and Collective Self-Consumption
Groups.
This is followed by the Electricity Internal Marker Directive (EIM), which
introduces the Citizens Energy Community (CEC) institution. 4 In the same
year, the European Union dismisses the Clean Energy for all Europeans
package,5 a suite of legislation comprised of eight Directives on energy-
related themes (e.g., Energy performance in buildings, Renewable
energy, Energy efficiency, Governance of the energy union, Electricity
regulation, Electricity directive Risk preparedness Governance
regulation, Electricity market design, Adoption process for the legal acts)
for the purpose of democratic governance with clear and specific
decision-making rules. The “Clean Energy for all Europeans package also
addresses Energy communities,” understood as local communities made
up of people and institutions living on the ground, and adhering to the
sustainable development goals set out in the European Green Deal
strategy (EGD) for the European Union, 6 the main policy framework for
achieving a transition to a climate-neutral and sustainable Europe by
2050. EGD's is an ambitious program, aspiring to the goals of reducing
CO2 emissions, climate neutrality, curbing energy consumption,
increasing the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and reducing
waste by promoting solutions related to individual and/or collective self-

3
  European Parliament and Council, Directive (EU) 2001/2018 on the promotion of the use of energy
from renewable sources, Brussels, (2018). Available online: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L2001 (accessed on July 26, 2023).
4
  European Parliament and Council, Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the of 5 June 2019 on common rules
for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU, (2019a). Available online:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32019L0944 (accessed on July 26,
2023).
5
   European Commission, Clean energy for all Europeans package, (2019b). Available online:
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-strategy/clean-energy-all-europeans-package_en
(accessed on July 26, 2023).
6
  European Commission, The European Green Deal (EGD) COM/2019/640 Final, (2019c). Available
at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0640 (accessed on July
26, 2023).
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024           155



consumption. Goals, moreover, already set at the EU level when the
Energy Roadmap 20507 was adopted, for a low-carbon European economy
by 2050 (-80/-95% greenhouse gases compared to 1990) based on the
identification of new scenarios for decarbonization (energy efficiency,
renewables, nuclear, carbon capture and storage). Funding programs
such as the Next Generation EU are significant in fostering a strong
momentum for the transition, to a cleaner and more sustainable energy
system, and just in the context of energy policies, the EEF guiding
principle “Energy Efficiency First”8 emphasizes the importance of
implementing the inclusion of energy efficiency measures as a priority in
their planning and implementation.
The principles of EEF are evinced in the European REPowerEU Plan
initiative 9 for the purpose of stimulating investment in promoting energy
renovation innovation, employment and economic growth through
energy upgrading of buildings. In support of the Urban Agenda for the
EU,10 maintaining the rigor of coherence and continuity within the
programs of the Trio of Presidencies, an operational framework for the
period 2016-2021 was developed by the EU ministers responsible for
urban issues, subsequent to the “Amsterdam Pact” 11, The New Leipzig
Charter,12 and the current adoption of the Ljubljana Agreement,13 the
related multi-annual work program for the period 2022-2026 which
concretize the beginning of a new phase of the UAEU in an
implementation document, which possesses a framework for planning,
implementing and monitoring an ecological, social and economic
transition, aimed at promoting and regulating a framework for sharing
knowledge, experience and good practices related to Energy
Communities through multilevel and multilateral cooperation by
observing the long-term structural change in energy systems, which are

7
   European Commission, COM (2011) 885, Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions,
Energy      Roadmap       2050,    (2011).      Available     at:    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A52011DC0885 (accessed on July 26, 2023).
8
 European      Commission,      Energy     Efficiency   First     (EEF),   (2021).    Available   at:
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-targets-directive-and-
rules/energy-efficiency-first-principle_en (accessed on July 26, 2023).
9
   European Commission, REPowerEU Plan Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions, (2022). Available online: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-
05/COM_2022_230_1_EN_ACT_part1_v5.pdf (accessed on July 26, 2023).
10
   European Commission, The Urban Agenda for the EU.
11
   European Commission, Establishing the Urban Agenda for the EU “Pact of Amsterdam” Agreed at
the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers Responsible for Urban Matters, Amsterdam, (2016b). Available
online:
 https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/themes/urban-development/agenda/pact-
of-amsterdam.pdf (accessed on July 26, 2023).
12
  https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2020/12/12-08-2020-new-leipzig-
charter-the-transformative-power-of-cities-for-the-common-good
13
    Slovenian Presidency Consilium European, Ljubljana agreement informal Meeting of Ministers
responsible for Urban Matters. Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, (2021). Available online:
https://www.urbanagenda.urban-initiative.eu/sites/default/files/2022-
10/ljubljana_agreement_2021_en.pdf (accessed on July 26, 2023).
                                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          156



considered essential for the “sustainable development of the city”, 14 but
which in their application to Energy Communities take on a systemic
value oriented towards the development of “Smart Cities” or “Smart
Territories.”
Better yet, we could speak of “Smart Communities,” intended not as a
unique model to be applied indifferently, but as sustainable and digital
communities, each characterized by a diverse organizational and
managerial system inspired by local actors (public, private or third
sector) committed to achieving precise objectives of sustainability,
optimization, efficiency, and digitization.
In this arena, it is important to note how collaborative organizational
models, combined with the opportunities offered by new digital
technologies, constitute a cardinal point in “energy transition” and
represent an opportunity for the creation of new arrangements based on
the “green economy”, on the modification of systems of producing,
distributing and consuming green energy, on the affirmation of “local
energy economies” and a greater “attention toward the social dimension.”
The principal actors in Smart Communities are public administrations,
productive activities, universities, active citizens and integrator systems,
all subjects deputized with the planning and management of network
architecture. The first as components of decision-making bodies
fundamental to the activation of new services, new infrastructures and
investments oriented toward the promotion and conservation of human
and environmental capital, relations and the common goods of a
community. The second as promoters of an increase in productivity and
employment through technological innovation. The third as subjects who
implement training and research fundamental to the competitive
development of local communities. The fourth component, citizens, as
subjects with real needs directly involved in decision-making processes
and the true protagonists of community life.15 With Directive 2018/2001
RED II, the European Union made a strong push to renew the theme of
energy production from renewable sources. At the national level in Italy,
these objectives were adopted with Legislative Decree 162/2019
“Milleproroghe”16 and the subsequent, final Legislative Decrees 2021/199
and 2021/21017 respectively transpose the aforementioned Directives
2018/2001 and 2019/944. They are followed by Resolution 2020/318 of

14
   European Commission, The Urban Agenda for the EU.
15
   Bharani Alagirisamy and Poornima Ramesh. “Smart sustainable cities: Principles and future
trends,” in Indrajit Pal and Sreevalsa Kolathayar (eds.), Sustainable Cities and Resilience. Select
Proceedings of VCDRR 2021. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 183 (Singapore: Springer, 2022): 301-
316.
16
   Presidency of the Republic, Decree-Law 2019/162, converted into law 2021/228, art.42-bis (2019).
Available online:
https://def.finanze.it/DocTribFrontend/getAttoNormativoDetail.do?ACTION=getSommario&id=
%7B74782FF5-8835-4235-BFE0-F8D4DA1A7AB4%7D (accessed on July 26, 2023).
17
    President of Italian Republic, Legislative Decree 2021/199, (2021a). Available online:
https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2021/11/30/21G00214/sg (accessed on July 26, 2023).
President of Italian Republic, Legislative Decree 2021/210, (2021b). Available online:
https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2021/12/11/21G00233/sg (accessed on July 26, 2023).
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            157



ARERA (Regulatory Authority for Energy Networks and Environment),
the Technical Rules established by GSE (Gestore Servizi Energetici),
which set out the characteristics of participants, economic conditions,
and the procedures for establishing RECs, and in light of ARERA
Resolution 2020/72718 and the issuance of the TIAD (Testo Integrato
Autoconsumo Diffuso) on renewable energy configurations with the
planned widespread self-consumption models pending implementation
in conjunction with the approval by the EU, of the RECs Implementation
Decree sent by the MASE (Minister of Environment and Energy Security)
in February 2023.
Establishing an Energy Community in the Italian context, which is rich in
valuable natural and cultural peculiarities and emergencies, however,
poses the need to confront the requirements of conservation and
protection of environmental and urban quality. It is therefore desirable,
as emphasized by the European Landscape Convention19, to base actions
on the principles of “safeguarding,” “management,” and “planning” of the
territory capable of guiding choices and encouraging the identification of
appropriate interventions useful for integrating new technologies with
the peculiarities of Natural and Territorial Capital.
From a scientific literature perspective, it is interesting to mention the
studies conducted by Susan Owens on “Energy Integrated Planning,”
which are based on the application of new planning processes aimed at
energy efficiency, particularly in the urban context.20 These concepts
have been taken up by Paolo De Pascali and expanded to a
multidisciplinary dimension of energy planning at the urban and
territorial level, in which sustainable development goals are integrated
with the preservation and enhancement of local resources, local
identities and historical and environmental values. The suggested intent
is to define transformations through a process that brings the culture of
becoming back into the culture of limit, a prerequisite of participatory
systemic design.21 Reasoning is extended to evaluate energy planning
based on the integration of energy and planning, considering the real
potential of neighborhood spaces in terms of capacity, mitigation and
adaptation in the design of environments. This involves analyzing
possible actions that can be implemented to create distributed renewable
energy systems, taking into account energy consumption and different
physical-environmental conditions. The goal is to assess the quality and

18
   ARERA Autorità Di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente, Deliberazione 727/2022/R/Eel
Definition, pursuant to Legislative Decree 2021/199 and Legislative Decree 2021/210, of the Regulation
of Diffuse Self-Consumption. Approval Of The Integrated Text of Diffuse Self-consumption, (2022).
Available online: https://www.nextville.it/normativa/50294/delibera-arera-27-dicembre-2022-n-
7272022reel/ (accessed on July 26, 2023).
19
   Council of Europe, European Landscape Convention, Firenze. ETS No. 176 - Firenze, 20.X.2000,
(2004). Available online: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/-/council-of-europe-european-
landscape-convention-ets-no-176-translations (accessed on July 26, 2023).
20
   Susan Owens, Energy, planning and urban form (London: Pion Ltd, 1986).
21
   Paolo De Pascali, City and energy. The energy value of settlement organization. Vol. 1786 (Milan:
FrancoAngeli, 2008).
                                                         URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          158



effectiveness of the proposed solutions through the processing of energy
data, which requires the creation of specific energy mapping and the use
of appropriate tools to assess their technical-financial and socioeconomic
feasibility.22 The latter reflections reveal the need to better define the role
played by the project, which can be interpreted as a possible tool for
governing transformation processes and controlling architectural and
landscape quality, especially with reference to new REC-related
infrastructure settlements.

3.      Best Practices.

In complement to the literature references, it has been deemed beneficial
to conduct an examination of the experiences and experiments
conducted to date on the subject of Renewable Energy Communities
(RECs) at both the community and national levels. The best practices
under analysis concerning RECs can be distinguished based on the
specific context in relation to the practical guidelines analyzed
concerning the specificity of “participatory” design.
Starting from the "European experiences", the study focused on the
results of the Renewables-networking platform project,23 carried out with
the support of the European Commission's DG Energy, which reviewed 37
real cases, all referred to a holistic model aimed at promoting
environmental sustainability and improving social cooperation between
all the actors involved.
As far as the “Italian context,” it was useful to draw on the results of the
LUMI Company,24 studies, which show the existence of 26 Energy
Communities, characterized by the development of smart grids, the
jointly ownership of local services and/or infrastructures, the change in
energy supply methods.
Among all the cases studied, we focused on the most relevant experiences
similar and comparable with the case study investigated and described in
the next paragraph, analyzing scope and characterization factors
applicable to the different contexts. Particular attention was paid to
projects focused on “urban regeneration models,” based on the smart city
concept and the use of technology as a tool useful to the smart change of
the urban environment. These projects are interesting because put the
attention on issues such as sustainability and energy security, and
implement an energy community following a bottom up approach and


22
   Michiel Fremouw, Annamaria Bagaini and Paolo De Pascali, “Energy potential mapping: Open
data in support of urban transition planning,” Energies 13(5) (March 2020): 1264,
https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051264.
23
   The platform aims to connect major European, national, regional and local stakeholders to
facilitate the development of sound policies that will ensure the achievement of the minimum 32
percent renewable energy target for 2030, while monitoring best practices and obstacles in
policies at national and subnational levels. https://www.renewables-networking.eu
24
    Consulting firm for marketing strategies in energy transition and digital innovation.
https://luminetwork.it/
                                            URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024   159



developing opportunities and benefits for the territory, focusing on
people, the urban context and the landscape.

3.1   Case Study 1: Smart City Project, Graz, Austria.

The city of Graz is part of the Eurocities program, the network of more
than 200 European cities in 38 countries, representing 130 million people
working together to address common challenges and share best practices
in the field of sustainable urban development, promoting transactional
cooperation between cities to improve the quality of urban life.
The Smart City Graz project, follows the Smart City Wien pilot initiative,
with which it shares an approach to urban planning of neighborhoods
and creating a smart and sustainable urban environment. This is done by
promoting energy efficiency, improving sustainable mobility, and
integrating smart technologies for managing urban infrastructure and
neighborhood green areas. The project involves 12 national and
international partners, led by the City of Graz. It will start in Waagner
Biro, a compact neighborhood with mixed urban use. A high-quality
public urban space will connect residential, office buildings to the new
school campus by 2025. The project responds to very concrete problems
and is related to citizens' demands on how to have more residential space,
but also decrease traffic and increase social infrastructure [Figure 1].
                                                         URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          160




  Figure 1| Smart City Graz project (AU). From top to bottom: general view of the intervention
area, summary sheet of quantitative data, meta-design schemes of interventions, general view of
                             the new neighborhood configuration.
                        Credits: https://www.renewables-networking.eu


3.2    Case Study 2: New Energy Model of Diffuse and Integrated Poly-
generation, Madonie Park, Palermo, Italy.

In 2010, the first Diffuse Photovoltaic Park was built, located in highly
degraded public areas (former landfills, lifting plants, asbestos roofing)
allow to combine environmental, productive and social recovery, without
consuming new land, lowering historical supply costs by about a quarter.
The project, implemented and promoted by the Madonie Local
Development Agency with the support of So.Vis.Ma S.p.A (Society for the
Development of the Madonie) and Enel X as a technical partner, is based
on a new energy model of diffuse and integrated poly-generation
experimented in the city of Güssing, Austria, which is being applied with
                                                          URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          161



the scientific support of which the ARCA Consortium25 is the lead partner.
The strategy made it possible to formulate a proposal that aims to
introduce a pilot context for the analysis of energy demand and potential
impact of the model tested with the STS-Med strategic project (funded by
the European Commission under the ENPI CBCMED program). The
analysis of data collected during specific energy audits with local
stakeholders revealed the opportunity to combine the solar resource with
the agroforestry resource, which is widely available in the area, through
the implementation of a system of small-scale hybrid plants distributed
throughout the territory. The complementary seasonality of the two
resources, would, in fact, allow demand to be met in a balanced form,
while the small scale would ensure respect for the landscape and
enhancement of local biomass. To compare with international best
practices and the belief that the Güssing model can be replicated, with
appropriate adaptations, and to recover the “energy memory” of the
territory with participatory modalities within the Madonie Ecomuseum,
as media centers with highly qualified staff and employees of museum
institutions, building on the memory of the territory's ability to produce
energy through differentiated renewable sources. Outlining a role as a
“living-lab of renewable energy” from national and international
collaboration and structuring participatory forms between all actors
(innovators, technicians, professionals, entrepreneurs and policy
makers) who share the “vision” of the ambitious energy model and the
integrated strategy of enhancement of local resources, with significant
spin-offs on the productive fabric, employment and the very involvement
of institutions with experimental laboratories of new technologies, to
support the application of a generative model, through “Energy FabLab
at School,” i.e., laboratories for the fabrication of demonstration devices
(exhibits). Later expanded to the building level through a phase of co-
design and implementation of energy improvement interventions in
schools and other public buildings in the area. The contents of the
strategy focus on vision and participation; the action has the vision and
challenging goal of 100% energy from renewable sources within 10 years,
defining an overall short-, medium-, and long-term energy master plan
that integrates the actions of municipal SEAPs (Sustainable Energy Action
Plans) and their enhancement.26
The Union of Municipalities of the Madonie Inner Area will support such
models through targeted information campaigns to increase public
awareness of the importance of energy sustainability. Some of the
municipalities involved have also joined the network of CERS (Solidarity
Renewable Energy Communities).27 The Municipality of Blufi in

25
   Public-private consortium composed of the University of Palermo and an entrepreneurial group
specializing in industrial research and technology transfer for self-generation and energy
autonomy.
26
   Source: https://madonieareainterna.it/energia/
27
  Source:     https://www.comunirinnovabili.it/la-rete-delle-comunita-energetiche-rinnovabili-e-
sostenibili/
                                                       URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024         162



particular, located in the hinterland of Palermo and belonging to the
Madonie Park, started the first photovoltaic system of the area's
Renewable Energy Community with the aim of becoming an aggregating
entity within the Park. Subsequently, the municipalities of Bompietro,
Castellana Sicula, Geraci Siculo, Petralia Soprana, and Petralia Sottana
connected to the same primary transformer substation to draw the energy
produced in anticipation of setting up their own co-production plants
[Figure 2].




 Figure 2| New energy model of diffuse and integrated poly-generation, Madonie Development
   Agency (IT). From top to bottom: general view of the intervention area, summary sheet of
                                       quantitative data
 Credits: https://www.lumi4innovation.it/app/uploads/2021/11/GUIDA-Smart-Sustainable-City-
                                        lay-digital.pdf

3.3 Case Study 3: Renewable and Supportive Energy Community, San
Giovanni a Teduccio Neighborhood, Eastern Suburbs of Naples, Italy.

A project of about 179 kW, of photovoltaic systems, financed by the
“Fondazione con il Sud,” promoted by Legambiente and the local
community starting with the fundamental role of the “Fondazione
Famiglia di Maria” and the 40 families with social hardship involved in
the CERS “Renewable and Solidarity Energy Community” and who will
enjoy the benefits of this new energy system. The first CERS example of
Italy with a project that is an example of good practice with the aim of
revitalizing a difficult neighborhood in the field of renewable energy,
which will also see the families involved in a path of awareness and
increased awareness of energy issues, in order to make the benefits
efficient in function of the community [Figure. 3].
                                                         URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024          163




Figure 3| Photovoltaic plant, San Giovanni a Teduccio (NP). From top to bottom: general view of
                   the intervention area, summary sheet of quantitative data.
 Credits: https://www.lumi4innovation.it/app/uploads/2021/11/GUIDA-Smart-Sustainable-City-
                                          lay-digital.pdf


4.      The Case Study of Roseto Valforotre – Test Analysis.

The best practices analysis has allowed the knowledge of the key elements
useful and necessary for starting up a Renewable Energy Communities.
Energy community means to start from a collective dimension, to take
new paths towards zero-km energy production and consumption. It
means re-establishing a relationship with the environment, starting from
the use of renewable sources for the realization of a sustainable economic
and social system for present and future generations. Energy Community
means mutual support, cooperation, exchange: all concepts at the base of
living together.
A common key element is the role played by the local administrations in
a territory. In fact, local administrations assume the role of promoters of
the Renewable Energy Community, starting from the research and
collection of needs and opportunities of the territory, through program,
plans and implementation tools necessary for the realization and
management of the Renewable Energy Communities also from an
administrative and maintenance point of view.
                                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            164



The creation of an Energy Community in Italy, some country rich in
peculiarities and valuable naturalistic and cultural emergencies, needs to
involve the stakeholders in charge of the conservation and enhancement
of the territorial heritage, to “develop a methodology for a meta design
approach” able to combine these aspects with the establishment and
development of the REC.
Based on these consideration, the study has focused on the case study of
the Municipality of Roseto Valfortore (FG), a municipality included
among “The most beautiful villages in Italy”28 and characterized by a
significant cultural, historical, architectural, landscape and tourist
heritage. The basic idea was to verify the feasibility of establishing a
Renewable Energy Communities in the municipality of Roseto Valfortore
with the aim of making it a self-sufficient reality on the energy aspect and,
at the same time, to promote its economic development by starting from
the valorisation processes of all the local resources that concern
economy, environment, culture, architecture, institutions, and people.
The approach to the Case Study found concreteness in the close
relationship between the Department of Architecture, ENEA and the
company Friendly Power S.r.l. in the person of V. Raffa, an economist
who kindly made available his own technical-economic feasibility studies
developed on the case study29 document later used to support the
calculations of renewable energy requirements and productivity,
potentially realizable subsequently estimated.
From the methodological point of view, the study developed from a
careful examination of the PPTE (Regional Territorial Landscape Plan) of
Apulia to arrive at the identification and perimeter of the survey area,
observing and interpreting its hydro-geo-morphological structure,
ecosystem-environmental structure and anthropic and historical-cultural
structure.30 It also continued by analyzing geographic, demographic,
environmental and economic ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics) data.
Site visits to the site of municipal interest to assess the problems of the
area, interviews with citizens and the mayor formed an integral part of
the study.
The analysis of anthropic transformations has highlighted, among others,
some critical issues in the way renewable energy production plants have
been established “[...] whose proliferation has occurred without any
planning and attention to the landscape values of the area,” as highlighted
in the accompanying document to the PPTR of the Apulia Region, which
continues “[...] the absence of effective policies in favor of the mountains
and minor centers has exposed, in addition, local governments to the
flattery of royalties provided by companies engaged in the installation of


28
  See the website: https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/borgo/roseto-valfortore/.
29
   Vincenzo Raffa, Distributed energy generation and energy communities. The case of Roseto Valfortore
(Naples: Edizioni scientifiche italiane E.S.I. Spa, 2020).
30
   Analyses developed through the use of GIS software and related Geoportals cadastral mapping
of the Internal Revenue Service and the National Directory of Spatial Data (RNDT).
                                                               URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024            165



wind turbines”.31
It also highlighted some programmatic inconsistencies among the
various urban plans, with particular reference to PRG (General
Regulatory Plan) forecasts of new urban expansion areas in blatant
contrast with nature conservation constraints placed by superordinate
instruments. A non-negligible aspect that has led to the need to consider
the development of a procedure for coordination and verification of
planning choices, also with regard to decisions on the establishment of
new RES (Renewable Energy Sources) plants so as to prevent significant
alterations of the landscape and identity assets.32
At the building scale, the study continued through the reconstruction of a
three-dimensional model of the entire urban fabric [Figure 4],33 in order
to arrive at an assessment of the possible locations of RES plants,
articulating the analysis with respect to the two types of building artifacts,
public and private, due to the different procedure required for the
activation of the authorization and implementation processes [Figure 5].




     Figure 4| Sunshine analysis of the roofing surfaces of public (left) and private (right) assets.
                                      Credits: Elena Di Giuseppe.




31
   Puglia Region, Territorial Planning Department, PPTR - Piano paesaggistico Territoriale Regionale
(2015).
32
   Dario Fossati and Anna Rossi (eds.), L.O.T.O. Landscape Opportunities. La Gestione Paesistica delle
Risorse Territoriali. Complessità Territoriale e Valorizzazione del Paesaggio. Esperienze a Confronto in
Lombardia         (Milan:        Regione         Lombardia,         2006).       Available       online:
https://www.contrattidifiume.it/.galleries/pubblicazioni/AZIONI_PILOTA_LOMBARDIA_LOTO.
pdf (accessed on December 5, 2023).
33
   A model was developed using Autodesk Revit software, incorporating an analysis of sunlight
exposure on roofing surfaces and the corresponding annual solar irradiance expressed in annual
kW/m2. This analysis was conducted using the Insight Building Performance Analysis plug-in.
                                                         URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024           166




    Figure 5| Analysis of municipal energy needs and photovoltaic productivity potentially
                      installable on public (left) and private (right) assets.
                                   Credits Elena Di Giuseppe.


In light of the activities carried out, it is possible to identify three different
areas of intervention with respect to which to focus the activities of meta-
design and verification of settlement compatibility:
- “The area of architectural integration at the territorial and landscape
scale,” with respect to which it is necessary to combine the needs for
integration of plant infrastructure with the preservation of identity and
natural features. Aspect also emerged from the analysis of case studies
(New energy model of diffuse and integrated poly-generation, Madonie
Development Agency, Italy).
- “The area of architectural integration at the urban scale,” with respect to
which it is necessary to search for consistency between the needs for the
inclusion of plant infrastructure and urban planning forecasts for new
settlements for collective services. Aspect also emerged from the analysis
of case studies (Smart City Graz Project, Austria, and New energy model
of diffuse and integrated poly-generation, Madonie Development Agency
Italy) based on the concept of functional integration.
- “The area of architectural integration at the building scale,” with respect
to which it is necessary to combine the needs for integration of plant
infrastructures with the preservation of the historical architectural
heritage. From this point of view, the distinction between public and
private interventions appears relevant, the latter to be evaluated also in
relation to the deployment of appropriate incentive tools also aimed at
building redevelopment and urban regeneration. Aspect also emerged
from the analysis of the case studies (Smart City Graz Project, Austria,
New energy model of diffuse and integrated poly-generation, Madonie
Development Agency, Italy, and Photovoltaic Plant, San Giovanni a
Teduccio, Naples).
Finally, the result of the work was the construction of a meta-design
elaboration articulated by areas of intervention consistent with the
objectives of urban-building development and territorial protection set by
the local administration, appropriately accompanied by a careful analysis
both from the point of view of identifying the implementing party (public
or private) and from the point of view of the contribution that the
                                                    URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024   167



individual project actions, accompanied by an estimate of productivity,
aimed at self-production and/or energy self-sufficiency of the local
community [Figure 6, Figure 7].




                  Figure 6| Integrated sustainable design strategy.
                             Credits: Elena Di Giuseppe.




                  Figure 7| Integrated sustainable design actions.
                             Credits: Elena Di Giuseppe
                                                           URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024           168



 5.    Conclusions.

The work done has highlighted all the complexity that characterizes the
implementation of an energy community in both small and large
communities. From the regulatory and literature review, a fairly
exhaustive picture emerges from the technical-financial and legal point
of view on how RECs are set up and activated, as well as from the analysis
of application experiences, an approach predominantly oriented to
diffuse generation emerges, in which solar photovoltaic technology plays
a predominant role especially with regard to installation interventions on
existing buildings. Little in-depth or even absent appear to be the aspects
related to the realization of new medium-large installations and
architectural integration. Just as totally unexplored appear the issues
concerning the assessment of landscape compatibility with settlement
contexts and the potential interaction with possible urban regeneration
and enhancement programs, except for the Smart City Graz (AU) project.
In this regard, the experience conducted has revealed the need to adopt a
holistic and multidisciplinary approach, geared toward rethinking
territories with a view to enhancement and revitalization, and based on a
path of progressive approach supported by planning documentation
suitable for verifying and validating individual project steps. First of all,
an adequate census of locally available renewable energy endowments
(FER),34 on which to base integrated energy production strategies, as
indicated by application experiences (see Figure 2) followed by an equally
adequate process of verification of landscape and historical-architectural
compatibility, preferably based on the methods proper to the competition
of ideas and the sharing and participation of choices of transformation of
the territory, in which local authorities and stakeholders are supported
by research centers and central institutions in the definition of objectives
and requirements for the protection of cultural heritage.
It also drew attention to the need to verify the consistency between
land/urban planning choices and energy choices made at the local level,
in order to encourage the development of interventions based on the
functional integration of community services and new facilities, so as to
improve urban endowments and reduce land consumption. Research
areas related to:
- the identification of appropriate financial models and incentive
mechanisms, especially to support private interventions;
- collaboration through national and international knowledge
networks;
- the structuring of participatory forms among all stakeholders;
- the analysis of the costs of development, installation and maintenance
of new energy infrastructure;


34
  For example, the presence of areas historically devoted to the cultivation of forest biomass for
heating, wind, solar, hydroelectric or geothermal areas.
                                             URBANA Vol. 1, N. 1, 2024   169



- the ways of participation and active involvement of local communities
in decision-making processes;
- the assessment of environmental impacts throughout the life cycle;
- the ways of creating educational and entrepreneurial opportunities
related to REC management.
Recipients of this study can be identified in local governments
(municipalities and regions) that would like to equip themselves with
innovative and integrated tools/regulations that contemplate the census
of locally available renewable resources, the protection and
enhancement of the territory, and actions for the establishment of RECs.
Not least the energy companies (ESCOs) involved in said processes.


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