White Paper on Good Policy Practice - An analysis of enablers and barriers for social innovations in

In 2018, the EU, as part of the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package (CEP), published the following definition for RECs in Article 2 of the Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources ‘Renewable Energy Community’ means a legal entity: (a) which, in accordance with the applicable national law, is based on open and voluntary participation, is autonomous, a. [...] The two most relevant directives for social innovations included in the CEP are the (Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources) and the Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the internal market for electricity 2019. [...] Policy Design: What’s driving and hindering social innovation in the energy sector? The seven case studies that are part of the SocialRES project and 38 expert interviews highlighted the barriers that actors in the field of social innovation in the renewable energy sector are currently face. [...] 4.1 Barriers to social innovation in the energy sector Through the analysis of the interviews, case studies, and literature we have identified main barriers for social innovations in the renewable energy sector: administration and bureaucracy, the competitive framework, technological and digital infrastructure, financial barriers and a lack of awareness. [...] Moreover, the transformation from passive to active consumers shifts the focus of the energy model from the electricity supplier to the consumer.