The Dora 5 Laghi Renewable Energy Community proves that when small municipalities come together, they can drive big change. With visionary leadership and Envipark’s technical expertise, they joined forces to secure clean, local energy in a small valley with limited sunshine, redefining the energy future of their territory.
Energy Communities
Mitigation
Located in Italy’s Dora Canavesana Valley (Piedmont region), ten small municipalities created the Dora 5 Laghi renewable energy community, built on a radical idea: equal access to energy, no matter how much each could produce.
Indeed, the valley is only 3 km long and the rest of the territory is covered by Alps mountains, limiting sunlight, with some municipalities, for instance Quincinetto, receiving direct sunlight only in the morning. For this reason, the energy community is a symbol of cooperation and fairness among the municipalities and their citizens.
Among the ten municipalities, six of them are EU Covenant of Mayors signatories - Borgofranco d’Ivrea, Quassolo, Montalto, Chiaverano, Quincinetto, Lessolo - already working together for the implementation of the joint SECAP Obiettivo Zero CO2.They promoted the initiative, willing to further extend their cooperation for the creation of a renewable energy community in their territory. The initiative was then extended to 4 additional municipalities: Settimo Vittone, Andrate, Carema, Nomaglio.
An intercommunal energy community to share sunshine
The Dora 5 Laghi energy community was born from the idea to provide with energy independence an entire valley, trapped into mountains limiting sun availability.
While the idea was noble, its setting presented significant financial and regulatory hurdles. Success began with securing essential funding: a grant from Compagnia San Paolo enabled the participating municipalities, supported by Envipark, to finance feasibility studies, legal fees, and notary costs. To solidify the association, the ten municipalities pooled €15,000 in founding capital (€1,500 each), meeting the regional requirement for official recognition.
Following the association's formal birth in December 2023, the focus shifted to community engagement. Local assemblies and awareness campaigns were launched to educate citizens and local SMEs on the benefits of renewable energy sharing. The momentum was maintained through Envipark's technical assistance in the RECROSSES and RENOSS projects.
Growth was further fuelled by a second grant covering administrative and communication costs, alongside regional and ERDF funds (available until November 2025) that provided 40% co-funding for rooftop PV installations on both public and private properties.
The project reached a critical milestone in September 2025, when the Piedmont Region officially recognized Dora 5 Laghi. Simultaneously, the GSE (Energy Services Management Agency) activated the community's geographic area, unlocking incentives. This paved the way for two distinct grid configurations: one already active and another pending final approval.
A municipally-led governance for a growing network
The energy community began with solar panels on the rooftops of public schools across the participating municipalities. Now, it goes beyond public buildings, and it extended to citizens and private companies. Today, this growing network counts 159 members.
At its heart, Dora 5 Laghi is built on the principle of inclusivity. In line with Italian law, the community is designed so that anyone can join or leave freely, fostering an open and flexible environment. Yet, to ensure the initiative remains grounded in its public mission, the founding municipalities retain at least 51% of the governance, safeguarding the community's original vision.
Joining the community is a straightforward, barrier-free process. There are no enrolment fees; citizens simply sign up online via the community's platform, declaring their role as either a prosumer (producing and consuming energy) or a consumer. The association's board, led by the founding municipalities, meets regularly to welcome these new members. The invitation extends beyond local residents to anyone connected to the grid, reflecting the community's open-door philosophy.
While Italian regulations do not allow direct savings on energy bills, members receive statal economic incentives - called incentivising tariff, amounting to approximately €50 to €100 per person per year for consumers and prosumers alike.
Lessons learnt
As said, building the energy community was not an easy ride. When the municipalities started it, an energy company decided to set up a plant in a close area, acting as competitor of the newly established energy community.
Then, the PV installations took time, as the approval for their installation by GSE required 6 months, and then the Italian Network Operator took more time to connect them to the grid.
However, facing these challenge made the founding municipalities learned the ropes: how energy communities work, how to manage them, and how to turn challenges into opportunities. Site visits, peer learning, and free technical guidance from Envipark gave them the confidence to move forward. Crucially, Compagnia San Paolo’s funding removed the initial financial barrier, covering notary fees and other startup costs that cash-strapped municipalities couldn’t afford.
The first PV panels went up on public schools, freshly renovated with Interreg MED funds. Each municipality became both a stakeholder and a “prosumer”, producing and consuming their own energy. The community didn’t stop there. They invited citizens and local businesses to join as consumers or prosumers, expanding their reach beyond the founding towns. Thanks to the grid’s layout, their energy could even flow into neighbouring Valle d’Aosta, proving that cooperation knows no regional borders.
Next Steps
Yet, sustainability—both environmental and financial—remains the community's biggest challenge. The funds from Compagnia San Paolo are nearing their end, and currently, municipal budgets cover just 10% of the association's needs. The search for long-term funding is now underway, as the community works to secure its future beyond initial grants.
For now, Dora 5 Laghi operates lean, with a part-time bookkeeper managing finances and ongoing technical support provided by Envipark through the RENOSS project. This partnership continues to finance OSS services for the energy community and its members, keeping operations running smoothly despite budget constraints.
But the community is already looking ahead. Talks are underway with local companies to install PV panels not just on rooftops, but on unused land as well, expanding the potential for renewable energy generation. And as they grow, they are proving that even in a valley where sunshine is limited, determination can light the way.
Dora Canavesana Valley, Italy
Energy Community in Focus
Dora 5 Laghi energy community
Active since: 2024
Stage of implementation: Established Energy Community
Key Energy Figures
- Total capacity installed: 78KW (pick) power of PV panels
- - X% in average in bills: expected yearly average reduction of 100-200euro per consumer / prosumer
- Energy generated:
- 93.6 MWh/year energy generated
- 23.4 MWh/ year self-consumed energy by prosumers
- 70/.2 MWh/ year energy shared to the gird and the consumers of the energy community.
Type of support from the Municipality
- Facilitation: Use of city halls’ venues for citizen assemblies to present the energy community to the citizen (awareness raising and promotion).
- Support:
- Municipalities - access to public roofs/land, administrative support, municipal guarantees, buying energy from the community.
- Envipark – support since the beginning (technical & legal support) and OSS services to prosumers and new members of the energy community, funded through the RECROSSES and RENOSS projects.
- Direct Involvement: joining as a member, co-investing in projects, leading the community.
Covenant Figures
- Six municipalities out of ten Members of the Covenant:
- Borgofranco d’Ivrea – 18/11/2013
- Quassolo – 02/05/2022
- Montalto Dora – 01/02/2022
- Chiaverano – 06/04/2022
- Quincinetto – 19/07/2018
- Lessolo – 26/03/2022
- Part of the CoM group “Obiettivo Zero CO2”
- Emission reduction ambitions of the group:
- - 55 % GHG emissions reductions by 2030
- Climate neutrality by 2050
Related link
Funding the project
- 15.000€ from the involved Municipalities (1.500€ per each municipality) for the setting up of the association (founders’ capital necessary for registering the association to the regional registry).
- 100.000€ from Compagnia San Paolo foundation (private fund):
- First instalment of 50.000€ for the setting-up (paid for lawyer, notary fees, development of the online platform) of the energy community and related feasibility studies.
- Second instalment of 50.000€ for hiring an accountant, carrying out awareness raising activities and PVs installation’ planning on additional rooftops.
Working on the project
One person hired for book-keeping and accounting.