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In the Balkans, for decades, the energy model was based on large hydroelectric dams, lignite, and electricity imports, which defined a market that was heavy, slow, and dependent on geopolitical whims. The European transition to clean energy has been slow in the region, and often only under pressure from commitments to the European Union. In recent years, something seems to be changing, with small cooperatives, citizen groups, and municipal authorities rediscovering the idea that energy can be produced and consumed locally, in a way that serves communities rather than monopolies. The European Clean Energy for All Europeans package provided a legal basis for energy communities for the first time, allowing citizens, municipalities, and small businesses to join forces to produce and consume renewable energy. This change coincides with the social pressure caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, when the electricity bill became a political issue in itself, with European authorities recognizing that energy communities are a tool not only for the green transition, but also for social stability, generating local revenue and strengthening solidarity among their members.

But what are energy communities? They are collective ventures in which citizens, small businesses, and municipal authorities join forces to produce, share, and consume clean energy in a democratic and non-profit manner. Instead of energy remaining under the control of large companies, these communities create small, decentralized production systems—mainly photovoltaic—in which members participate equally, make decisions collectively, and invest the benefits back into the local community.

Despite delays, the region already has a remarkable community energy map. At least 190 energy communities have been identified in Southeast Europe, of which 168 are in Greece, 12 in Croatia, 8 in Slovenia, and just one each in Bulgaria and Romania. This striking imbalance shows two things: first, that the regulatory framework plays a decisive role, and second, that the demand for democratic energy exists, as long as you make room for it.

The painting is completed by the role of the Energy Community, the international organization under the European Commission that has been trying to expand the EU’s internal energy market to the Western Balkans for 20 years. With the signing of the Treaty in 2005, countries such as Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo committed to adopting a number of European rules on electricity, renewable energy sources, the market, and interconnections. The process was slow and often contradictory, but it laid the foundations for a regional market that allows cross-border electricity flows and joint investments.

This framework is crucial because the Balkans is currently a region where electricity prices are dramatically affected by the climate, hydroelectric availability, and Ukraine’s import needs. In the summer of 2024, wholesale markets were “on fire” with prices above €200/MWh across almost the entire region, as Ukraine drew huge amounts of energy from the Hungary–Romania–Bulgaria –Greece corridor to cover its deficit. With low dam levels, no wind, and interconnections strained by demand, prices are skyrocketing. This instability makes decentralized production and self-consumption not just an ecological choice, but a survival mechanism.

Greece was one of the first countries in Europe to establish a legal framework for energy communities. The 2018 law preceded the transposition of European directives and paved the way for faster development. This explains why there are now 168 energy communities in operation (with 1,406 communities on paper) with 803 MW installed, figures that are extremely high for the Balkans. However, of these, only 3 MW relate to actual self-production projects, while the majority were organized on an investment-commercial basis, creating so-called “pseudo-energy communities.” Minoan Energy in Crete reached 400 members and used part of its production to support 50 earthquake-stricken households. Electra Energy, is developing a virtual net metering model to reduce energy poverty, allowing members to benefit from community production without having space for photovoltaics. In 2023, an attempt was made to correct the course: the new law limits profits to 20%, abolishes the old framework, and paves the way for energy communities in apartment buildings, although the available 2 GW of electrical “space” in the National Electricity System must be shared by everyone, from municipalities to farmers and companies. The country may have a good foundation, but it needs a stable and clear institutional environment to move from quantity to real energy democracy.

Croatia, on the other hand, although it does not have the volume of Greece or the legal overproduction of 1,400 “on paper” communities, has more than ten real energy communities that are functional, participatory, and rooted in the local community. In 2023, the country had 12 energy communities, all operational, all based on cooperative models and without the phenomenon of “pseudo-communities” that prevailed in Greece. The most characteristic case is Križevci, a small town that has become a model of European innovation. In 2018 and 2019, the first crowdfunding projects for the installation of photovoltaics on municipal buildings began there—projects financed directly by the residents. The project was organized by the municipality in collaboration with the Green Energy Cooperative of Zagreb, and the response was so great that it led to the creation of the KLIK cooperative, which now serves as a pillar of the city’s energy independence. The cooperative even uses blockchain infrastructure for microgrids and peer-to-peer energy trading, a rare example of technological boldness in Southeast Europe. The other major experiment is taking place on the island of Krk, where the energy transition is not only technological but also cultural. The Otok Krk cooperative aims to transform the island into an “energy community as a whole”: so far, there are 175 houses with small photovoltaic systems, with the aim of doubling this number within the year and connecting them all to a single smart grid. The plan is to install 1,000 small and two large photovoltaic units, capable of covering all the island’s needs in winter and offering a surplus for sale in summer, including electric vehicles. Croatia, although it does not have spectacular figures, is building something that many other Balkan countries lack: small-scale institutions with big results.

Energy communities in the Balkans are a political act in a region that for decades viewed energy either as a state monopoly or as a field of major private interests. Citizens, municipalities, and small businesses are claiming space in a market that was never designed for them. The reason for their venture is, on the one hand, because they want stability and, on the other, because they do not trust a system that can send bills skyrocketing overnight, realizing that the energy transition cannot be solely a matter for the powerful. If the European experience reveals anything, it is that energy, when it remains under the complete control of the market or the state, becomes vulnerable. But when it returns to the scale of the neighborhood, the city, the cooperative, it builds resilience. The Balkans still have a long way to go, but for the first time in years, they’re moving forward not only through investments and pipelines, but through citizens organising from below — a reminder that Balkan communities are reclaiming the energy future. And this, perhaps, is the most meaningful form of energy security the region has ever known.

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