The energy transition is not just happening in smart cities—it’s thriving in rural communities. The WeForming project’s Spanish demonstrator, located in a small village, is a pioneering Rural Renewable Energy Community (REC) that is revolutionizing how neighbors produce, share, and consume power.
The core of the demo, succinctly captured by its tagline: Empowering Villages, is a model of energy independence, fair access to clean energy, and a reduction in energy poverty.
The Story: Neighbours Working Together
In this community, 25 residential users and 6 public buildings are linked through a local energy-sharing network. The centrepiece is a shared 58 kW solar installation on a municipal rooftop. Instead of everyone installing their own panels, residents collectively benefit from the power generated.
Sharing Power: Residents receive energy based on pre-defined allocation coefficients.
Affordable Clean Energy: Surplus energy is either stored in a community battery or exchanged within the network, ensuring everyone benefits from clean, affordable electricity.
The Impact: This system reduces energy poverty, promotes fair access to clean energy, and significantly strengthens the village’s energy independence.
As Cristina García Moreno (R&D Technical Engineer at Cuerva, the demo leader) states:
“This project demonstrates that even in rural communities, clean energy can be implemented collaboratively, creating a model of a smart village for the future.”
Innovation in Action: Technologies Ensuring Fairness
To make this complex sharing system work transparently and efficiently, the Spanish demo relies on cutting-edge technology:
AI-Powered Optimization: Smart algorithms learn from historical data to forecast energy generation and demand. These tools help the community make the best decisions about when to use and when to store energy, ensuring maximum efficiency for every user.
The Cloud Operational Platform: This digital environment collects and displays real-time data from all community devices. It acts as a dashboard, helping both users and operators understand exactly how energy is being produced, stored, and shared.
Blockchain Technology: To maintain trust and transparency, a secure digital record is used to ensure all energy transactions within the community are transparent and trustworthy.
Community Battery: A new 15 kWh shared battery has just been installed to store surplus energy and ensure power is available when solar production is low.
Current Progress and Next Steps
The energy community is fully operational and monitored in real time. The team has achieved several major milestones:
- The EV charger is fully operational and connected to the energy management system.
- Consumption forecasts are completed and are already highly accurate.
- The community battery is currently being configured and authorized to be put into full operation.
Next Steps for the demo include improving energy optimization using AI and increasing residential user engagement to encourage more participants to actively consume and interact with the system.
Spanish demo: Grid-Supporting Rural Renewable Energy Community
The objective is to deploy and validate a rural renewable energy community, integrating key assets and digital solutions to enhance energy efficiency, flexibility, and traceability. Achievements:
- Commissioning of the energy community, including a photovoltaic system.
- Installation of Wibeee Box devices for detailed consumption monitoring.
- Development of a management platform aligned with WiBRA standards.
- Initial studies into energy flexibility.
- Implementation of a smart contract development environment.
