E.ON and Adeje, a municipality in Tenerife, are creating a unique energy community called “Adeje Verde.” This will be the first community of its kind in Europe, and its goal is to empower residents to generate, share, and use solar-generated electricity collectively, helping Adeje, which currently relies on fossil fuels for 79% of its energy, transition to 100% renewable energy through rooftop solar.
The Adeje Verde pilot project aims to create Europe's first community for self-consumption of energy, using a unique approach for involving citizens. It is based on the Electricity Market Directive from the 2019 EU Clean Energy Package, which allows for excess solar power to be shared with neighbors at a lower cost instead of solely returning it to the grid. E.ON plans to utilize successful models from Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden in the implementation of the project.
Luis Hernandez, head of energy communities and networks at E.ON Innovation, said: “In Adeje, we are creating the first community that corresponds to the new European guidelines, which will be applied throughout Europe in the coming years. Spain is…an ideal place for a pilot project” and can serve as a blueprint for other European countries, “enabling citizens to contribute to a faster, sustainable and more affordable energy transition.”
Adeje municipality will set up multiple “solar circles” featuring central rooftop PV plants. Each plant will generate solar power for residents within a 500 meter radius. The first PV system, producing around 149,200 kWh annually, was installed on a music school in Adeje. As of August 2022, approximately 200 households were set to start receiving power from the plant.
E.ON describes the potential for solar circles as “incredible”, noting that if just 20% of European citizens were part of a local energy community like that in Adeje Verde, “we could save 6 400 000 tons of CO2 emissions each year.”
E.ON plans to expand the solar energy community in Adeje by installing more PV installations and “enabling even people who don't have space for their own PV to enjoy the benefits of solar energy and begin their sustainability journey.” The goal of the pilot project is for all citizens of Adeje to have access to local solar power in their neighborhood as members of the “fastest-growing energy community in Europe.”
Tenerife, like many EU islands, has excellent conditions for producing power from renewable sources such as sun, wind and waves, but often lacks the necessary infrastructure to do so. Islands offer an ideal testing ground for future energy systems, as they often face challenges such as lack of energy storage and low grid capacity, resulting in reliance on fossil fuel imports from the mainland.
“This is unsustainable and expensive”, says E.ON, with electricity prices up to ten times those on mainland Spain.
The government of the Canary Islands is working to transition all of the islands to 100% renewable energy sources by 2040. The Adeje Verde energy community is seen as a key step in this process, serving as a pilot project for sustainable energy production and consumption in the region. EON believes it could also serve as a model for other regions in Europe.
