Énostra Renewable Energy Cooperative

Within the framework of ethical principles, Énostra is a renewable energy cooperative that produces and sells electricity using 100% renewable energy sources, without profit for the purpose of promoting sustainable electricity use. It is also the first renewable energy cooperative in Italy.

In accordance with the suggestions and ideas from the Scientific Technical Committee, Énostra has developed its own policy to assess the environmental sustainability (renewable energy is not always sustainable) and corporate social responsibility (legality, transparency, governance, network and community relations, no relationship with the fossil sector) of renewable energy power generation facilities.

In this context, Énostra purchases electricity from generation companies and communities associated with local communities that meet these criteria. Thus, it supports the growth of energy share from renewable sources in the national energy mix. Cooperative membership requires the purchase of 2 shares of 50 € (each with a nominal value of 25 € each). It also represents a deposit that guarantees the supply to be returned if the cooperative member leaves the cooperative.

Today for the Social Economy Blog readers, I will introduce the Énostra renewable energy cooperative. In the preparation of the paper, the resources has provided by the Énostra renewable energy cooperative website and by the Énostra renewable energy cooperative official Costanza Boggiano Pico (Énostra Profilo, 2020 and Énostra Introduction, 2020) were used.

Path

Énostra was born from the European Union RESCoop 20-20-20 project in 2014 and became a member of RESCoop in 2015.

European road of Ènostra continues with RESCoop PLUS, financed by the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, to develop and share good practices for energy saving and efficiency.

Énostra had more than 1000 membership in 2017 and the number of members were reached to 5903 persons in February-2020.

Principles

Énostra  closes the circle between production, savings and consumption and supports the transition from fossil energy sources to renewable energy sources, and has adopted the following principles as a sustainable and ethical renewable electrical energy supplier.

Reciprocity: The cooperative model provides common and mutual benefits to everyone involved. Our aim is to provide our members with sustainable electricity at the best possible price, taking into account the ethical and sustainability paradigms that underlie our Statute.

Transparency: It is managed responsibly and transparently within the framework of collective interests.

Sustainability: Fossil energy sources seriously affect the climate, environment, health, economy and society. We believe in a future based solely on renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and democracy.

Sharing: Énostra is a market operator that changes the rules of the game. It adopts the typical cyclical model of the sharing economy, acting as a link between producer-consumer and consumer-members and selecting facilities and businesses according to the rules of sustainability and morality.

Participation: From service delivery to awareness campaigns, Énostra actively participates in every issue in the energy supply chain.

Energy Solutions

In addition to electricity production and supply, Énostra performs the following functions if requested.

Turnkey Solutions: It realizes turnkey projects such as photovoltaic systems and batteries, heat pump systems, heat generators, energy efficiency of the building-facility system, charging stations for electric cars.

Consultancy services: Services such as energy diagnosis and certification, analysis of energy consumption and load curves, monitoring of photovoltaic system production, tax discount analysis, thermal calculation applications, feasibility studies are offered.

Financing and Production Facilities

The total assets of Énostra were 771520 € and 4239712 € in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The photovoltaic systems of Énostra at the end of 2018 is presented in Table 1. Approximately 18% of the electricity supplying to its members is produced by Énostra.

Table 1. Photovoltaic systems

W_p: It is the maximum power of solar panels under test conditions.

Corporate Partnerships

In Ènostra, the common goals of team building with the principle of equality are better and conscious of acting together. It has 16 partnerships operating in different fields such as banking, radio, agriculture, environmental associations, publishing house, initiatives against climate change within a more participatory approach where being a part of a network. Some of these partnerships are Banca Etica, Radyo Popolare, Legambiente, Cooperativa Agricola-IRIS, Greenpeace-İtalya, Terra Nuova, Altra Economia, Comuni Virtuosi, Campi Aperti, Clima italiana Coalizione, CO-energia, Legacoop, Fondazione Culturale Responsabilità Etica, Italia che Cambia

References

Énostra Profilo, January 2020.

Énostra Introduction, January 2020.