Abstract

Energy communities continue to gain popularity across Europe as a promising approach to advancing energy transitions. Since 2021, Austrian legal reforms have promoted renewable energy communities to foster local energy production, equitable resource distribution, and community engagement. This paper examines two contrasting cases: the rural Schönbühel-Aggsbach energy community in Austria and the industrial Urtinsa energy community in Alcorcón, Spain. Each community has distinct ways of operating, demonstrating the diversity of energy community structures. Using frameworks of institutional logics, energy justice, and critiques of capitalist structures, the paper identifies four key paradoxes within energy commons and proposes pathways toward more inclusive, integrated, and sustainable energy systems. The findings emphasize the need for additional empirical research and context-specific solutions to address the complexities of energy transitions.