LIFE E-BUSCO is an innovative project designed to help companies in Spain, Greece and Italy more easily integrate renewable energy into their daily operations. Through a collaborative approach and the use of advanced technologies, E-BUSCO solves some of the biggest challenges facing solar energy today, such as falling prices due to oversupply of energy (energy cannibalization) and limited use of available solar energy.
This project proposes a solution to these challenges: cooperation between companies to share resources, such as energy storage, allowing more efficient management of renewable energy production and consumption. Thanks to this approach, E-BUSCO improves the profitability of renewable energies without the need for costly extensions to the power grid.
This project has received funding from the LIFE program of the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101215550 – LIFE24-CET-E-BUSCO. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the E-BUSCO project and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.
Further information is available on the project’s website. https://life-ebusco.eu/
By the end of the project, LIFE E-BUSCO aims to:
The project contributes to the EU clean energy transition while creating measurable business value.
Athens, Greece
The Greek Energy Cooperation Hub (ECH) will focus on supporting SMEs in energy communities to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and pilot tools/solutions that can restore the economic viability of investments in new community-owned RES plants under net-billing in a wholesale energy market with prices reaching zero during solar hours.
This involves collaboration between multiple stakeholder types, from communities and their national association to companies providing professional services and final SME beneficiaries to deliver the necessary tools and solutions. This approach aims to mitigate the impact of regulatory changes, such as the shift to net billing and dynamic tariffs, ensuring continued profitability and increased renewable self-consumption. The Greek ECH will be supported by QUE as technology provider and ELECTRA as a social cooperative that support the development of energy communities in Greece.
Valsesia, Italy
Engreen is collaborating with UNIONE MONTANA VALSESIA (UMV), a group of 26 small municipalities in rural Piedmont, Italy, to establish multiple Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and promote local energy independence.
This Alpine valley already has two RECs with around 100 users and 20 buildings with PV plants.
Additionally, 10 new RECs are under development, set to connect 500 more users. While each REC will be independent, UMV will ensure coordination and interaction among them. The ECH will focus on SMEs, establishing mechanisms to differentiate residential from business energy consumption. The E-BUSCO Italian ECH will demonstrate how shared energy storage and flexibility can reduce grid disturbances, integrate more renewable energy without grid investments, and increase the viability of business energy communities.
Lorca, Spain
The Spanish Energy Cooperation Hub (ECH) will be developed in the agri-food sector of the Murcia region, through the ALIMER Group, agriculture and farming cooperative involving 1.750 small and medium farmers. It involves horticulturists, dairy, fresh and frozen product storage companies, livestock farms, etc.
This is a wide range of business within the group with different activities which makes it possible to promote their energy cooperation. ALIMER counts with existing and planned photovoltaic generation assets, as well as many consumptions that have proved flexibility (irrigation pumps, feed mills, refrigeration system compressors, etc.). This sector is key for the energy transition and with high importance in the Region of Murcia, and will be supported by Voltiva Energy, as energy retailer, Bamboo Energy as technology provider and ALIMER, an agriculture cooperative.
