Covides SCCL participates, together with CEVIPE Grupo Cooperativo SCCL, Agrícola de Falset – Marçà SCCL, BATEC SCCL and EMELCAT SCCL, in a unique project led by the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCAC), to study the creation and development of a Rural Energy Community (REC).
A REC is a group of energy self-consumption that allows consuming the energy generated within the municipality/company/cooperative (essentially photovoltaic), using the existing electricity grid. Its objectives are:
- To lead the ecological and energetic transition from the rural world, starting from the facilities of the cooperative and the members spread in different rural areas.
- Maximize photovoltaic energy self-sufficiency through the use of roofs owned by the cooperative and its members.
- To take advantage of and strengthen the cooperative character among the members, opening, if necessary, a new energy section.
- Diversification of business to COVIDES members, seeking maximum performance of farms.
- Search for energy and rational savings by COVIDES and its partners that is reflected in the economic result in the face of maximum energy efficiency.
- Governance mechanisms to make decisions within the energy section, providing autonomy or participation in the community.
From COVIDES, a first phase of data collection of voluntary partners from different parts of the Penedès (30 partners from 20 municipalities in total) has been formulated for the project, and its feasibility is being studied so that, in the future, it can be expanded to more partners or legal entities, whether current members of COVIDES or not, in addition to being or not being holders of a farm, making agricultural cooperatives proactive in the ecological transition to renewable energies.
This project has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, through the Department of Enterprise and Labor of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
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