Portugal has few energy communities and the Gulbenkian Foundation wants to create ten more to boost this sector in the country. Self-consumption already represents 2.8% of electricity consumption on the mainland, which shows some progress in this area, although energy communities continue to be residual.
The delay in the development of energy communities in Portugal is due to several factors. Available financing is limited, existing bureaucracy drives away potential interested parties, and lack of technical support makes it difficult to implement projects. These obstacles have prevented more communities from being established and functioning efficiently.
The Gulbenkian Foundation emerges as an actor that intends to reverse this situation, expressing the intention to support the creation of at least ten new energy communities in Portugal. This initiative comes in the context of a country where, despite the growth of individual self-consumption, the collective mode of energy sharing remains largely unexplored.
