Klima- und Energiefonds der österreichischen Bundesregierung

The call supports the further development and professionalisation of existing energy communities, with the overall objective of strengthening their contribution to a decentralised, renewable, and socially inclusive energy system. It addresses two main priorities:
The first priority focuses on outreach and engagement, supporting measures that attract new participants and stakeholder groups while raising general awareness of energy communities. This includes activities that communicate the benefits of participation, broaden inclusiveness (e.g. across different socio-economic or demographic groups), and strengthen the visibility and acceptance of energy communities at the local level.
The second priority aims to enhance the operational and technical capabilities of energy communities. It supports measures that improve the ability to monitor, analyse, and forecast electricity generation and consumption within the community, and to provide transparent and actionable information to members. In addition, it includes initiatives that enable more advanced and coordinated management of producers and consumers (such as optimising energy flows or aligning consumption patterns) taking into account local and regional conditions. This also extends to empowering participants with the tools and knowledge needed to actively contribute to the efficient functioning and governance of the energy community.

The call is targeted at existing, operational energy community projects under Austrian electricity law and sets clear eligibility and application requirements. Eligible applicants include established “joint generation facilities” (§16a ElWOG 2010), “renewable energy communities” (§79 EAG and §16c ElWOG 2010), and “citizen energy communities” (§16b ElWOG 2010) that exclusively use energy from renewable sources. In all cases, the applying entity must represent a community that is already actively in operation at the time of application. In addition, minimum participation thresholds apply to ensure a sufficient scale and maturity: at least 5 active participants (metering points) for joint generation facilities, 10 for local renewable energy communities, and 20 for regional renewable or citizen energy communities (including umbrella organisations).