Badajoz Provincial Council supporting rural energy communities

Badajoz, the largest province in Spain, once known for its strategic role at the border with Portugal, is now facing problems common to all predominantly rural areas, such ageing population and energy poverty. To tackle these challenges, the Province Council of Badajoz decided to promote clean and sustainable energy, as well as empowerment of its population, by the participation in collective energy schemes and awareness raising.

The project has been launched to promote a clean and sustainable economy in the province of Badajoz through the creation of a Community Transformation Office (OTC) . It focuses particularly on municipalities facing demographic challenges, where the ageing population, which is at risk of energy poverty, needs to be empowered by understanding their energy bills and participating in collective energy schemes.

Steering the transition through municipalisation of services

To facilitate its work in the sector, the Provincial Council decided to establish a Community Transformation Office (OTC in Spanish), providing information, as well as supporting the work to remove legal and technical barriers to the establishment of energy communities in the province.

Once established, the OTC started generating considerable interest, with 90 expressions of initial interest from local organisations. Of these, 50 final applications were received from local authorities, SMEs and citizens, highlighting the interest in the province for energy communities.

Since its establishment, the OTC created 33 study committees on the municipalisation of energy services, providing model statutes and tender documents to facilitate the transfer of public rooftops to local energy communities. Additionally to the legal and economic support, the OTC provided technical advice, carrying out 35 studies on photovoltaic potential and making available a savings simulator to generate personalised energy reports. Through all these different supporting instruments, the OTC successfully supported 50 municipalities in their road to climate neutrality, helping establish 19 energy communities.

However, the OTC work was not limited to the Technical Assistance to municipalities, but reflected also the attention of the Provincial Council to the battle against energy poverty. 

To promote this battle, the OTC conducted an extensive information campaign to raise awareness on energy consumption, giving information on how to read energy bills and how to change energy behaviours to reduce consumptions and costs. As a result, 31 awareness-raising sessions were held in district centres and 15 workshops dedicated to energy efficiency. These events were accompanied by two online courses, as well as resources such as information briefs, a website, social media profiles and an exhibition on energy.

Lessons learnt: legal basis to avoid public tender process

While the programme was a clear success for the Badajoz Provincial OTC, it became clear that it is vital to organise specific training sessions for local council secretaries, as they play a key role in overcoming obstacles and driving the consolidation of local communities from within the administration.

This targeted training was complementary to the specialised legal work the OTC carried out to provide legal certainty to local councils, citizens and SMEs alike. Indeed, the OTC directly supported local authorities in becoming partners in energy communities, analysing the possible legal forms, and suggesting the Associative legal form, as well as processing the studies for the municipalisation of energy services.

Other elements useful for the development of municipally-led energy communities were the development of a financial savings simulator, as well as customised environmental impact studies, and a collaborative network between different local energy cooperatives (LECs) in Extremadura. Indeed, the network enabled the sharing of knowledge and document templates, whilst avoiding duplication of efforts within the same municipality.

However, the probably most important lesson learnt was the legal arguments developed by the OTC to facilitate the use of public rooftops. Indeed, Badajoz Provincial OTC promoted legal arguments to allow the direct allocation of municipal rooftops to ECs (bypassing the general public tender process), based on their purpose of general interest and social benefit.

Next Steps

The results of the Badajoz Provincial OTC went beyond expectations, considering that 19 municipalities are currently developing energy community projects, while the initial target was just five pilot energy communities. 

For this reason, the OTC is now planning the strategy for its future, focusing on technical specialisation and institutional stability. Indeed, the objective is to update the Royal Decree 7/2026 to amend the LRBRL - the Spanish Local Government Framework Regulation - explicitly recognising the promotion of Energy Communities as a municipal competence in the areas of efficiency and self-consumption. To do so, the OTC is planning to hold meetings with mayors and secretaries of the province to push for the revision of the Decree.

Beside this legal work, the OTC will continue its technical assistance, in particular mapping the opportunities for all municipalities near the substations reserved for tenders - optimising the technical planning carried out in the first 35 strategic studies -, and publishing a technical document clearly setting out the timelines and stages of the process to constitute an energy community. To additionally support the interested municipalities, following the extension of the radium for the activities of an energy community from 2 to 5 kms, the OTC will assess the identification of public land (not just rooftops) with photovoltaic potential located near substations.

Lastly, the OTC is now focusing on financial opportunities for municipalities, advising them to remain alert to opportunities arising from capacity tenders and renewable energy auctions, maximising the institutional support now offered by the new legal framework.

Replication Potential

The model carried out by the Badajoz Provincial OTC is highly replicable thanks to the development of free-of-charge technical materials, such as the website, savings cost simulation tools and technical guides, and of a financial system that can be replicated once the funding is granted.

Additionally, for the local authorities in the Badajoz Province, the model is remaining in place after the end of the project thanks to the establishment of a collaborative network among local authorities in Extremadura.

Badajoz's Energy Communities

Stage of implementation: 

Key Energy Figures

• Total capacity installed:  Over 9 MWp identified on municipal rooftops. 
• Ratio production/consumption: estimated 25% coverage of electricity demand with renewable generation
• - X% in average in bills: 35% (customised studies carried out for each participating municipality to quantify the financial savings) 
• Energy generated: 4,555,200 kWh/year proposed for energy communities.

Type of support from the municipality

• Facilitation: Organisation of awareness-raising events (31), efficiency workshops (15) and mobile information points. 
• Support: Conducting 35 strategic studies on photovoltaic potential and providing legal advice on the transfer of roof rights and the municipalisation of services. 
• Direct Involvement: The Provincial Council acts as the coordinating body, whilst the local councils act as founding partners or members through municipalisation procedures. 

Covenant Figures

• Signatory to the Covenant of Mayors since: 2009
• Emission reduction ambitions: 
     % GHG emissions reductions by 2030:  6.035,55 tCO2
     % GHG emissions reductions by 2050:  30.177,75 tCO2 

City “awards”

• The Badajoz Provincial Office for Community Transformation (OTC), which reports to the Badajoz Provincial Council, received an award in September 2025 from Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The award recognised the OTC’s initiative to create energy communities in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.