Multi-Level Governance and Industrial Engagement in Renewable Energy Communities: A Pre-Regulatory Study from Lombardy
Keywords:
Local Public Authorities (LPA); Small and Medium-Sized Industries (SMI); Energy Transition; Low-Carbon Economy; trust
Abstract
This study investigates the early-stage development of renewable energy communities in Italy, focusing on how small and medium-sized industries in the Lombardy region perceived and responded to communication efforts before the full implementation of new regulatory frameworks and economic incentives. The research is based on data collected through a targeted survey conducted among industrial firms. The analysis explores the roles played by national and regional institutions, as well as local public authorities such as municipalities, in shaping awareness and interest in renewable energy participation. A non-parametric statistical test was used to assess the influence of different governance levels on industrial engagement. Results indicate that Local Public Authorities exert a significantly stronger influence on industrial perceptions and willingness to engage in Renewable Energy Communities (REC) than higher-level institutions. In the surveyed sample, 51% of Small and Medium-sized Industries (SMI) reported no or minimal awareness of REC, with 34% expressing no interest in participation, primarily due to limited communication and lack of familiarity. Conversely, the highest awareness levels (up to 26%) were recorded in areas where Local Public Authorities maintained proactive and trust-based communication, such as Lecco–Sondrio, suggesting that localized outreach is notably more effective than top-down regional campaigns. These findings highlight the need for coordinated, place-based governance strategies that reinforce the role of local actors in energy transition initiatives. Municipalities and similar authorities may serve as crucial intermediaries, translating national strategies into meaningful local action. By capturing industry perceptions prior to the implementation of national Renewable Energy Communities incentives, this study offers a unique and unbiased perspective on how businesses naturally engage with different levels of governance. It contributes to the broader understanding of how trust and proximity influence participation in sustainable energy systems.
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References
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2. Ahmed, S., Măgurean, A. M. (2024). Renewable Energy Communities: Towards a new sustainable model of energy production and sharing. ScienceDirect. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X24002311
3. Anfinson, K., Laes, E., Bombaerts, G., Standal, K., Krug, M., Di Nucci, M. R., & Schwarz, L. (2023). Does polycentrism deliver? A case study of energy community governance in Europe. Energy Research & Social Science, 100, 103093.
4. Álvarez Jaramillo, J., Zartha Sossa, J. W., & Orozco Mendoza, G. L. (2019). Barriers to sustainability for small and medium enterprises in the framework of sustainable development—L iterature review. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(4), 512-524.
5. Bache, I., & Flinders, M. (Eds.). (2004). Multi-level Governance. Oxford University Press.
6. Bache, I., Bartle, I., & Flinders, M. (2016). Multi-level governance. In Handbook on theories of governance (pp. 486-498). Edward Elgar Publishing.
7. Ball, D., Coelho, P. S., & Machás, A. (2004). The role of communication and trust in explaining customer loyalty: An extension to the ECSI model. European journal of marketing, 38(9/10), 1272-1293.
8. Bazilian, M., Bradshaw, M., Gabriel, J., Goldthau, A., & Westphal, K. (2020). Four scenarios of the energy transition: Drivers, consequences, and implications for geopolitics. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 11(2), e625.
9. Brown, P.; Cameron, L. Renewable energy projects and the concept of shared benefits. J. Bus. Ethics 2015.
10. Caramizaru, A., & Uihlein, A. (2020). Energy communities: an overview of energy and social innovation (Vol. 30083). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
11. Ceglia, F., Esposito, P., Faraudello, A. L. E. S. S. A. N. D. R. A., Marrasso, E., Rossi, P., & Sasso, M. (2022). An energy, environmental, management and economic analysis of energy efficient system towards renewable energy community: The case study of multi-purpose energy community. Journal of Cleaner Production, 369, 133269.
12. Cheng, W.J.; Mo, D.X.; Tian, Y.J.; Xu, W.Q.; Xie, K.C. Research on the composite index of the modern Chinese energy system. Sustainability 2019, 11 (1).
13. Ciasullo, M. V., Troisi, O., Grimaldi, M., & Leone, D. (2020). Multi-level governance for sustainable innovation in smart communities: an ecosystems approach. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 16, 1167-1195.
14. Conway, E. Engaging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the low carbon agenda. Energy Sustainability and Society 5, 32 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-015-0060-x
15. Dall-Orsoletta, A., Cunha, J., Araújo, M., & Ferreira, P. (2022). A systematic review of social innovation and community energy transitions. Energy Research & Social Science, 88, 102625.Strielkowski, W.; et al. Economic Catalysts and Benefits of Renewable Energy Communities. J. Renew. Energy Econ. 2021.
16. & Mannarini, T. (2024). Individual and community catalysts for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) development. Current Opinion in Psychology, 101987.
17. Deloitte. (2022). Government Trends 2022: A global perspective. Deloitte Insights. https://www2.deloitte.com.
18. Deloitte. Inclusive Government: Community Communication. Available online: https://www2.deloitte.com/us (accessed on 15 January 2024).
19. Di Bella, L.; Katsinis, A.; Lagüera-González, J. Annual report on European SMI 2022/2023 – SMI performance review 2022/2023. Publications Office of the European Union, 2023. Available online: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2826/69827 (accessed on 11 January 2024).
20. Esposito, P., Marrasso, E., Martone, C., Pallotta, G., Roselli, C., Sasso, M., & Tufo, M. (2024). A roadmap for the implementation of a renewable energy community. Heliyon, 10(7).
21. European Commission. Clean Energy for All Europeans Package. Available online: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-strategy/clean-energy-all-europeans-package_en (accessed on 15 December 2023).
22. Giuliano, F., Pronti, A. (2025). Advancing photovoltaic transition: Exploring policy frameworks for renewable energy communities. Solar, 5(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/solar5010010
23. Gul, E., Baldinelli, G., & Bartocci, P. (2022). Energy transition: renewable energy-based combined heat and power optimization model for distributed communities. Energies, 15(18), 6740.
24. Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2003). Unraveling the central state, but how? Types of multi-level governance. American Political Science Review, 97(2), 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055403000649
25. Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2010). Types of multi-level governance. In Handbook on multi-level governance. Edward Elgar Publishing.
26. Hosmer, L. T. (1995). Trust: The connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics. Academy of management Review, 20(2), 379-403.
27. International Energy Agency. Available online: https://www.iea.org (accessed on 2 January 2024).
28. Italy for Climate. Available online: www.italyforclimate.org (accessed on 22 December 2023).
29. Jones, A.; Willis, R. The role of SMI in achieving sustainability goals. J. Sustain. Dev. 2017.
30. Krupa, J., Galbraith, L., & Burch, S. (2015). Participatory and multi-level governance: applications to Aboriginal renewable energy projects. Local Environment, 20(1), 81-101.
31. Levenda, A. M., Behrsin, I., & Disano, F. (2021). Renewable energy for whom? A global systematic review of the environmental justice implications of renewable energy technologies. Energy Research & Social Science, 71, 101837.
32. Loecher, U. (2000), "Small and medium‐sized enterprises – delimitation and the European definition in the area of industrial business", European Business Review, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 261-264. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555340010373537
33. Lombardy Regional Council. Available online: www.en.regione.lombardia.it (accessed on 10 December 2023).
34. Mackinnon, D., Chapman, K., & Cumbers, A. (2004). Networking, trust and embeddedness amongst SMEs in the Aberdeen oil complex. Entrepreneurship & regional development, 16(2), 87-106.
35. Mihailova, D., Schubert, I., Burger, P., & Fritz, M. M. (2022). Exploring modes of sustainable value co-creation in renewable energy communities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 330, 129917.
36. Montaldi, C., & Giannobile, L. (2023). Establishing a renewable energy community in a residential district: Advantages and implementation challenges. In International Conference on Innovation in Urban and Regional Planning (pp. 621-631). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
37. Otamendi-Irizar, I., Grijalba, O., Arias, A., Pennese, C., & Hernández, R. (2022). How can local energy communities promote sustainable development in European cities?. Energy Research & Social Science, 84, 102363.
38. Petrovich, B., & Kubli, M. (2023). Energy communities for companies: Executives’ preferences for local and renewable energy procurement. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 184, 113506.
39. Petrovics, D., Huitema, D., Giezen, M., & Vis, B. (2024). Scaling mechanisms of energy communities: A comparison of 28 initiatives. Global Environmental Change, 84, 102780.
40. Regional Agency for Environmental Protection in Lombardy. Available online: www.arpalombardia.it (accessed on 10 December 2023).
41. Statista. Available online: www.statista.com (accessed on 20 December 2023).
42. Swarnakar, P., & Singh, M. K. (2022). Local governance in just energy transition: towards a community-centric framework. Sustainability, 14(11), 6495.
43. Teladia, A., & van der Windt, H. (2025). Lights, Policy, Action: A Multi-Level Perspective on Policy Instrument Mix Interactions for Community Energy Initiatives. Energies, 18(11), 2823.
44. Tillmar, M. (2009). No Longer So Strange? (Dis) Trust in Municipality—Small Business Relationships. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 30(3), 401-428.
45. Trevisan, R., Ghiani, E., & Pilo, F. (2023). Renewable energy communities in positive energy districts: A governance and realisation framework in compliance with the Italian regulation. Smart Cities, 6(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities6010026
46. Udin, U. (2020). Renewable energy and human resource development: Challenges and opportunities in Indonesia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 10(2), 233-237.
47. Unioncamere Lombardia. Sostenibilità ambientale e sociale: la propensione delle imprese lombarde. Available online: www.unioncamerelombardia.it (accessed on 10 December 2023).
48. United Nations. Available online: www.un.org (accessed on 2 January 2024).
49. Walker, G.; Devine-Wright, P.; Hunter, S.; High, H.; Evans, B. Trust and community: Exploring the meanings, contexts and dynamics of community renewable energy. Energy Policy 2010, 38 (6), 2655-2663.
50. Zhang, S., Shinwari, R., Zhao, S., & Dagestani, A. A. (2023). Energy transition, geopolitical risk, and natural resources extraction: a novel perspective of energy transition and resources extraction. Resources Policy, 83, 103608.
51. Zhou, S., Matisoff, D. C., Kingsley, G. A., & Brown, M. A. (2019). Understanding renewable energy policy adoption and evolution in Europe: The impact of coercion, normative emulation, competition, and learning. Energy Research & Social Science, 51, 1-11.
Published
2025-06-30
How to Cite
Garbelli, M. (2025). Multi-Level Governance and Industrial Engagement in Renewable Energy Communities: A Pre-Regulatory Study from Lombardy. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 21(16), 1. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2025.v21n16p1
Section
ESJ Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Garbelli
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
