THE ENERGY COMMUNITY AS A TOOL FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: NEW GOVERNANCE OF THE ENERGY MARKET

The energy community, as a new mode of citizen participation in the European renewable energy market, highlights the close connection between energy decentralisation, territorial development, and the crucial role of local authorities in doing so. In the context of territorial development and keeping within the ongoing decentralisation processes, participation and sustainability is particularly important. Also, the very idea of promoting community energy, leads to the affirmation of an innovative system of energy governance, based on horizontal subsidiarity identifying these actors as the protagonists of a new local development, favouring forms of selfgovernment of particularly fragile territories and the most marginal areas. Since there is a common ground between the local authority and the energy community, this paper will also specifically highlight how local authorities are called upon to play an active role on the one hand, to pursue the public interest and the promotion of the common good. While on the other, the energy communities who have objectives and a juridical nature, makes them interests of the public authority. In fact, it can-t be argued that from the perspective of the energy community being a non-profit organization, it is aimed at promoting the protection of the economic interest of its members, as well as promoting a wider environmental and social benefit, which also generally extends to the entire local community.