After years of being mere consumers, citizens are being placed at the heart of energy systems.

In the latest energy package - Clean Energy for All Europeans - the European Union, for example, puts citizens at its centre, empowering them to become 'fully active', key players in the energy transition.

This means an increase in citizens' involvement in energy production, storage, distribution and use, as well as potential ownership of energy plantations. Achieving this ambition relies on social innovation, including the development of new community energy business models.

For its part, the EU has pinned its hopes on the continued development and diffusion of the community-based approach to sustainable energy production and consumption.

However, community-driven renewable energy projects usually remain a 'niche' part of the overall energy system. This is the case in European countries such as Denmark, where community action began in the 1970s and is largely seen as responsible for the development and success of onshore wind energy projects, or Germany, which in 2015 had some 973 energy cooperatives active in renewable energy generation, mainly from solar PV, initiated from community-tested success.

At the moment, in Romania, there are more than 100 systems with wood chip power plants installed in private homes, with installed power exceeding 5 MW. A promising start that can provide the market with solid examples of best practice.