This volume addresses renewable energy communities, and in particular renewable energy cooperatives (REScoops), in the context of the revised EU Renewables Directive. It provides a comprehensive account of the history and development of the renewable energy community movement in over six different countries of continental Europe. It addresses their visions, strategy, organisation, agency, and more particularly the challenges they encounter. This is of particular importance to gain more understanding into how renewable energy communities fare in domestic energy markets where they are confronted with regime institutions, structures and incumbents' agency that tend to favour maintaining of the status quo while blocking attempts to empower and institutionalise renewable energy communities as market entrants having a disruptive, radical green and localist agenda. This volume will be an invaluable reference for academics and practitioners with an interest in social innovationin sustainable transitions, the role of community energy in energy markets, their agency, as well as an outlook to the impact that the EU Renewables Directive may have to change national legislation and policy frameworks to create a level playing field that is essentially more fair and beneficial to renewable energy communities.

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: "What are Energy Communities Under the EU's Clean Energy Package?".- Chapter 3: Community energy on the east side of the Baltic Sea Region: from standstill to first steps.- Chapter 4: Clean energy transition in Southeast Europe: The paradigm of Greece from a fossil fuel mediator to a community energy hub.- Chapter 5: The community energy sector in Italy; historical perspective and recent evolution.- Chapter 6: Community Energy in Germany: From Technology Pioneers to Professionalisation under Uncertainty.- Chapter 7: Support structures for renewable energy communities.- Chapter 8: Energy Communities promoting Home Energy Savings: Interventions, Theory and Results.- Chapter 9: Creating an enabling policy framework for inclusive energy communities: a gender perspective.- Chapter 10: Housing communities as low-carbon energy pioneers Experiences from the Netherlands.- Chapter 11: Conclusion.