About the Pilot
Castello Green House is a cooperative REC with mutualistic purposes, which pursues environmental, economic, and social benefits for its members, the community and the local areas in which it operates through the production and management of conscious, eco-sustainable and participatory RES. It works towards the purchase and sale of energy-environmental goods and/or services to the best economic conditions for members, aiming to improve their material and cultural wellbeing. The Project aims at the overall energy requalification, energy efficiency (EE) and installation of systems for the production of renewable electricity (RES), of residential buildings. The project aims to make 9 buildings more efficient and to involve a further 11 for the production of RES. Within these, we find 511 real estate units (492 residences and 19 commercial activities) of which 320 in 9 buildings affected by both EE and RES interventions and 132 real estate units (residential) subject to RES interventions only (4 buildings, all 132 residences). Through participation in the program, the initiative aims to acquire knowledge regarding the choice of functional IT tools to maximize the efficiency of the services provided, the engagement of new members, including the ones with different consumption profiles from those who have already joined the REC, and knowledge around best practices, which can help the REC to expand its scope.
Our support
The Castello Green House pilot contributed primarily through transferable outputs and system-level insights. A “how-to citizen-led renovation” guidance was developed to address one of the key challenges in the Italian context: low citizen participation in Renewable Energy Communities. It focuses on building trust and engagement, promoting low-effort and low-investment participation models, and helping RECs attract a broader membership base. The pilot also maintained its ambition to implement energy-efficiency and renewable-energy measures across a large building portfolio and to expand REC configurations to additional areas, while the support activities identified key barriers to REC implementation in Italy – participation, regulatory complexity, and GSE platform constraints – to inform future implementation.
Related News
The Citizen-led renovation Pilot Castello Green House, Ferrara's first Citizen Energy Community (CER) cooperative, has participated in the "Fossil-Free Cities" event in Brussels.
We are excited to announce the selection of six Pilots for Phase II of the Citizen-led renovation (CLR) initiative. Among the selected pilots is the Italian “Comunita’ Energetica Rinnovabile – Castello Green House - Società cooperativa”.