Tranforming energy systems to fulfill the needs of a low-carbon economy requires large investments in renewable electricity production (RES-E). Recent literature underlines the need to take a closer look at the composition of the RES-E investor group in order to understand the motives and investment processes of different types of investors. However, existing energy policies generally consider RES-E investments made on a regional or national level, and target investors who evaluate their RES-E investments according to least-cost high-profit criteria. We present empirical evidence to show that RES-E investments are made by a heterogeneous group of investors, that a variety of investors exist and that their formation varies among the different types of renewable sources. This has direct implications for our understanding of the investment process in RES-E and for the study of motives and driving forces of RES-E investors. We introduce a multi-dimensional framework for analyzing differences between categories of investors, which not only considers to the standard economic dimension which is predominant in the contemporary energy literature, but also considers the entrepreneurship, innovation-adoption and institutional dimensions. The framework emphasizes the influence of four main investor-related factors on the investment process which should be studied in future research: motives, background, resources and personal characteristics.

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While cooperative organizations created with the aim to initiate, develop, and operate renewable electricity (RE) projects have received attention for their roles in the transition to a sustainable energy system, the disparities in the number of RE cooperative projects among countries suggest that institutional contexts may have an impact on their deployment. In order to systematically identify the systemic factors that impact their deployment, we use an established framework, considering the strengths and weaknesses in market structure, infrastructures, institutions, interactions, and capabilities. We compare the deployment context in Germany, France, and Sweden in order to understand which systemic factors have an impact and how they affect RE cooperative projects. Based on a review of the literature and qualitative interviews with experts in RE cooperatives, it appears that, although RE cooperative projects share some obstacles with most new entrants of RE, they are particularly exposed to a lack of financial infrastructure, a lack of knowledge and interactions, and problems related to a lack of regulatory frameworks facilitating their deployment. Results also show that systemic factors are complementary and dependent on each other: lowering one barrier lowers other barriers, and some obstacles strengthen other obstacles. Drawing on the comparison among Germany, France, and Sweden, we highlight some interesting practices that could be used in the coordination and alignment of systemic conditions for the deployment of RE cooperative projects.