Becoming the first continent to be climatically neutral is currently both Europe’s main challenge and greatest opportunity. A new energy model, based on energy that is renewable, distributed and efficient, is crucial in order to accelerate the solution to the climate emergency. In this sense, on 25 February 2015, the European Commission set out a vision of an Energy Union with citizens at its core, where citizens take ownership of the energy transition, benefit from new technologies to reduce their bills and participate actively in the market. In June 2019, the European Union turned this public policy objective into an applicable regulation while the new EU directive on the electricity market set a new actor on the energy market: the citizen energy community. In this article, we analyse the meaning and significance of this key player in transforming the economy into a climate-neutral economy.

Social Innovation is an emerging phenomenon where groups of people are connected to face mutual challenges. Social innovation is arriving into society through internet based platforms and social networking that allow people with the same objectives to get in touch.

Social innovation formats are diverse, and they are based on the exchange of things and services, the shared use of resources, knowledge transmission, and reliability related to collective reputation.

Social innovation is consolidating because it is based on changes in users' values, in the demand for services, and in the way services are consumed. Phenomena like Airbnb, Uber or Goteo are the tip of the iceberg of Social Innovation in Spain, a process that is just beginning.