Press release
People could save up to €930 a year – ClientEarth files EU complaints against Poland and Hungary over blocked community energy
15 July 2026
ClientEarth has filed complaints with the European Commission against Poland and Hungary over rules affecting renewable energy communities.
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The organisation says both countries have failed to remove barriers stopping people from accessing cheap, locally produced renewable energy in community.
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Communities using a mix of solar and wind could save up to €930 a year.
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EU Member States were required to create conditions enabling people to participate in renewable energy communities by 30 June 2021.
In new complaints, ClientEarth argues that Poland and Hungary have fallen short of EU law by failing to create the conditions people need to set up and join energy communities – local projects where residents, municipalities, and small businesses can jointly produce renewable energy, use it close to where it is generated, and share the savings.
ClientEarth is asking the European Commission to investigate whether Poland and Hungary have breached EU rules on renewable energy communities.
An energy community could mean solar panels on the roof of a school, public building, apartment block or small business. The energy generated can power homes, shared building areas, nearby shops and services, public lighting, water infrastructure and other local needs.
European Commission analysis suggests that communities using a combination of solar and wind could save up to €930 a year.
Anna Frączyk, energy lawyer at ClientEarth, said:
“People are still being shut out of cheaper, locally produced renewable energy because national rules make energy communities too difficult, unclear or financially unattractive.
“Cheap energy cannot be a privilege reserved for people who own a roof and can afford their own installation. Energy communities should allow people living in apartment blocks, tenants and households without the upfront savings needed for private solar panels to access locally produced renewable energy too.”
Across Europe, recent price shocks have put households, small businesses and public services under severe pressure, turning energy bills into a more existential question of whether people can keep homes warm, shops open, and local services running.
ClientEarth argues that locally generated energy can make national energy systems more resilient to external shocks. It reduces dependence on imported fuels, eases pressure on the grid and strengthens local communities.
During the five-year period that EU energy community laws should have been implemented, Europe has faced repeated energy shocks. In the first 60 days of the conflict in the Middle East alone, the European Union paid an extra €27 billion for imported fossil fuels, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Frączyk said:
“Leaving energy communities stuck on paper has been an expensive own goal. Dependence on fossil fuels keeps turning global crises into household crises. While households, small businesses and public services were hit by volatile energy prices, governments failed to unlock a tool that could help people produce cheaper energy locally and keep more money in their communities.
“Years of delay mean years in which people were left more exposed to energy price shocks than they needed to be.”
Across Europe, more than 8,000 energy communities are already active, according to the European Commission. By 2030, their installed renewable capacity could grow up to tenfold, enabling them to produce power for 25-30 million households – but only if legal frameworks are in place to enable it.
ClientEarth supported the complaints with legal analysis and spoke to people involved in local, democratic forms of producing and managing energy.
Tomasz Adamiec, mayor of Policzna, a rural municipality in Poland, told ClientEarth:
“We have an energy cooperative, so we do not pay for electricity at the water supply pumping station. That means I am not increasing water or sewage prices. We have streetlights on at night – we do not pay for them, and the streets are lit.
“Bills have fallen dramatically – in the town hall building alone by almost 90%. I will soon be able to use that money for other ways of improving residents’ lives. The energy we save allows us to keep developing our local community.”
The mayor said:
“When setting up the cooperative, we kept bouncing between different institutions. We still work with external companies through outsourcing.
“It was a drawn-out mess. I am a mayor, I know some law, and these rules still intimidate me.
ClientEarth wants the complaints to lead to tangible changes: clearer rules, simple public guidance, workable incentives, better access to financing, grid connection requirements adapted to local realities and a model that allows citizens, municipalities, and small businesses to use, share and sell energy produced close to them.
Anna Frączyk said:
“What we need are rules that work in real life. People should be able to join forces locally, produce renewable energy close to where they live, and use, share or sell it without having to fight through a maze of unclear rules. Governments must put power in people’s hands.”
If the Commission finds that Poland and Hungary have breached EU law, it can require both governments to address the barriers and may open infringement proceedings.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
What are renewable energy communities?
Renewable energy communities are legal entities that allow citizens, municipalities, small businesses and other local actors to jointly produce, consume, store or sell renewable energy. The energy can then be used by members of the community, while savings or income from surplus energy can be channeled back into local needs and community resilience.
Energy communities are intended to broaden access to the benefits of the energy transition, including for vulnerable and low-income households, and enable citizens to participate directly in renewable energy generation and use.
Their primary purpose is not financial profit, but environmental, economic and social benefits for members and local areas. These can include lower bills, more local control over energy, wider access to renewable energy for people without their own installation, and reduced dependence on fossil fuels.
The community decides who takes part, how surplus energy is used, and how any income from selling it is reinvested. A well-designed community can also better match local energy production with local demand during the day and night.
EU legal framework
The EU introduced renewable energy communities through the Renewable Energy Directive, known as RED II. Member States were required to transpose the relevant provisions into national law by 30 June 2021.
EU law also recognises citizen energy communities under the Electricity Market Directive. ClientEarth’s complaints concern barriers affecting the development and operation of community energy models in Poland and Hungary, with a focus on renewable energy communities.
The complaints have been submitted to the European Commission, which is responsible for monitoring whether Member States comply with EU law.
ClientEarth has previously called for more focus on community energy in EU discussions about energy solutions, describing it as a major underused tool for building EU energy resilience and independence.
Problems in Poland and Hungary
Poland: According to the organisation’s lawyers, citizens face a confusing mix of overlapping legal models, unclear rules, grid connection requirements that are not suited to Polish realities, a lack of simple public information and limited access to financing.
The complaint also points to a lack of solutions for lower-income households, too narrow a scope of activities available to communities, and the risk that their citizen-led character could be weakened by the involvement of large companies.
Hungary: ClientEarth says Hungary shows a similar gap between rules and reality. On top of this, participation in an energy community can mean losing access to lower regulated energy prices – so instead of saving money, people may simply face higher costs.
The organisation also warns that the system may favour larger actors and municipalities over grassroots citizen-led initiatives.
Selected figures and sources
Energy Communities Action Plan / Citizen Energy Package, 2026;
Commission Recommendation (EU) 2026/1007 of 30 April 2026 on supporting the development of energy communities and maximising the potential of self-consumption, April 2026
- More than 8,000 energy communities are estimated to be active in Europe.
- Households producing and consuming their own solar energy could save around €260-550 a year.
- Communities of households using a mix of solar and wind energy could save around €440-930 a year.
- Energy communities could increase their installed renewable capacity up to tenfold by 2030.
- Energy communities could produce renewable power for 25-30 million households by 2030.
- The Energy Communities Action Plan objective is 90 GW of installed capacity in energy communities by 2030.
- In the first 60 days of the conflict in the Middle East, the EU paid an extra €27 billion for imported fossil fuels.
Grid expectations: The distribution backlog stalling Europe’s energy transition, Beyond Fossil Fuels and AFRY, June 2026
- Around €100 billion of clean energy project value is trapped in grid queues.
- The report identifies not only physical grid constraints, but also administrative, regulatory and governance barriers.
European Pulse survey, carried out by Cluster17 for POLITICO & beBartlet, March 2026
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Across six EU countries including Poland, 96% of respondents say it is important for Europe to invest more in its own energy infrastructure.
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In Poland, 61% of respondents support maintaining the current pace of the renewable energy transition or accelerating it.
Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), December 2018
About ClientEarth
ClientEarth works in over 60 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. We shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive.
We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.