Greece was among the first EU countries to establish a dedicated regulatory framework for energy communities. Today, there are 2,541 communities of all legal forms. The number seems impressive. The reality, however, is much less positive.
Out of the 2,562 MW of energy community projects connected to the grid up to April 2026, a mere 114.1 MW – amounting to 4.4% – involved self-generation to cover the needs of the members themselves. The majority of the capacity concerns commercial electricity generation projects. At the same time, from January 2024 to April 2026, only 61 new applications for energy community projects were submitted, while 56% of the requested capacity in low and medium voltage has been cancelled.
Comparison with other European countries shows that there are different paths.
In Austria, a country with a population comparable to that of Greece, over 3,000 energy communities were already operational at the beginning of 2025, whereas just three years earlier there had been very few. There, energy sharing is permitted nationwide and local communities can even benefit from reduced grid charges: for shared energy use within the low-voltage grid, the discount can reach up to 57%.
Spain followed a different strategy. Through the Recovery Fund, it allocated EUR 108.4 million for the development of energy communities, and today there are 262 active communities recorded. At the same time, it has developed over 9.3 GW of self-generation across more than 600,000 installations and has installed smart meters in 99.6% of households, creating better technical conditions for energy sharing.
Greece, by contrast, is seeing self-generation slow down. The available capacity reserved on the grid for self-generation – 2 GW – is already nearing exhaustion, while the new net billing system has progressed slowly.
What could have been done differently?
The government could have reserved more electrical space for energy communities and self-consumption, increased the limit to at least 3 GW, created special financial tools for municipalities and vulnerable households, offered technical support via one-stop shops, and provided real incentives for local energy sharing and storage.
This is now also the European direction. The Commission wants the capacity of energy communities in the EU to increase to up to 90 GW and is calling for better access to financing, simpler rules, social inclusion, and meaningful citizen participation. Today, there are more than 8,000 energy communities in Europe.
So Greece does not necessarily lag behind in the number of communities. It lags behind in the most important thing: in turning the institution into a genuine tool for energy democracy, lower bills and less dependence on fossil fuels.
