Between grassroots and treetops: Community power and institutional dependence in the renewable energy sector in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands

Kooij, Henk‐Jan; Oteman, Marieke; Veenman, Sietske; Sperling, Karl; Magnusson, Dick; Palm, Jenny; Hvelplund, Frede

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.019

Cited by 158 publications

(159 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…This proves to be a difficult endeavor as LLCEIs directly challenge prevalent practices that are inherent to the fossil-fuel based regime. The existing energy infrastructure is highly centralized, dominated by private interests, and is coordinated in an integrated fashion [2,[63][64][65]. These characteristics do not sit well with a bottom-up movement that favors a local and community-based approach with a heightened degree of autonomy.…”

Section: Alleviating Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This discrepancy typically gives rise to a number of conundrums. These involve inter alia difficulties associated with obtaining a connection to the grid [24,66,67]; competing with large energy companies that dominate the market and have lobby strength [1,2,61,68,69]; archaic energy regulations and legislation [70]; and getting projects financed [68,69,71,72].…”

Section: Alleviating Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Germany, in the second half of the 2000s, the number of citizen energy production cooperatives increased rapidly: from 4 solar energy cooperatives in 2007 to over 200 by 2010 [1], with at least 600 newly formed citizen energy cooperatives in total in 2013 [3]. It is estimated that in Denmark in 2017, 20% of the installed wind energy capacity is owned by citizen cooperatives, farmers and local landowners [2]. In 2010, collective citizen initiatives accounted for around 40-50% of total installed wind energy capacity in Austria [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, initiatives comprising of groups of citizens that want to take matters into their own hands and strive to generate low-carbon energy in their local environment have been booming throughout Western Europe (e.g., [1][2][3][4]). In Germany, in the second half of the 2000s, the number of citizen energy production cooperatives increased rapidly: from 4 solar energy cooperatives in 2007 to over 200 by 2010 [1], with at least 600 newly formed citizen energy cooperatives in total in 2013 [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2) What strategies activities and roles by intermediaries help to address the requirements of LLCEIs to further develop? (3) How is the completeness and coherence of intermediary support reflected in an empirical case, the Province of Fryslân?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives

et al. 2018

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Recent scholarly attention shows that grassroots civil society low-carbon energy initiatives increasingly become part of the subnational climate change governance landscape. Despite their potency in view of consumer-owned distributed generation and enhanced citizen influence in the organization of the energy infrastructure, local low-carbon energy initiatives (LLCEIs) struggle to become viable alternatives to the centralized, private oriented energy system. To further LLCEI development, support needs to build their capacities; alleviate institutional hurdles and barriers stemming from the fossil fuel-based energy regime; and open up the system for the uptake, acceptance or breakthrough of LLCEIs. Evidence suggests that so-called "intermediaries" form a part of the solution in addressing these issues. Despite previous attempts at analyzing intermediary roles and activities vis-à-vis the development of community energy, the reality of the various roles and strategies intermediaries can employ and the support LLCEIs require to further develop have not yet been synthesized in a comprehensive analytical framework. This article aims to fill this gap by developing such a framework. We reflect on the analytical framework by evaluating the intermediary support structure in a specific case: the Province of Fryslân. From the analysis, we conclude that the Frisian case provided modest support to the claim that intermediary support is effective in addressing the needs of LLCEIs as the strategies and roles observed represent a complete and coherent support structure.

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Section: Alleviating Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alleviating Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives

et al. 2018

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Polycentric energy governance: Under what conditions do energy communities scale?

2022

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As the polycentric nature of climate governance becomes ever more apparent, understanding the role played by individual initiatives becomes an increasingly urgent research priority. In recent years, community initiatives have blossomed in relation to clean energy, both in their overall number and diversity. Polycentric governance thinking offers a powerful but incomplete account of how and why such initiatives emerge, grow, and replicate in different contexts, that is, how they "scale." This article investigates the conditions under which different clean energy communities scale. Based on a systematic literature review, it identifies 23 separate conditions, which are subsequently categorized into what happens within, between and in the context of individual initiatives. As well as enriching polycentric governance thinking, this article identifies practical ways to inform and facilitate the emergence of new community initiatives.

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Sustainability of local renewable energy projects: A comprehensive framework and an empirical analysis on two islands

Tsagkari

Roca

Stephanides

2022

Sustainable Development

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Local energy projects have been associated with several benefits for the local community like social cohesion, economic gains, new skills, and environmental awareness. Yet, there is limited research on whether the projects fulfill their sustainability promises, and how the local community perceive the benefits. This research introduces a novel framework to assess the success of a local renewable energy project based on the perceptions of the local population and the initial ambitions of the projects. Using this framework two innovative local renewable energy projects are assessed; one in Tilos island in Greece and the other in El Hierro in Spain. An online questionnaire was used to assess the impact of the project on people's lives, their overall assessment of the project and their willingness to support similar future initiatives. The data show that the economic benefits are not significant when people assess the project, while on the contrary other factors like the environmental benefits, sense of pride, technical parameters institutional seem to have a greater effect. The environmental and institutional factors are also among the ones that influence people's willingness to support and participate in future projects. Overall, we reveal that the two projects are quite successful in the eyes of the local population and offer good case studies with several implications for policymakers and future initiatives.

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Between grassroots and treetops: Community power and institutional dependence in the renewable energy sector in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands

Cited by 158 publications

References 43 publications

The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives

The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives

Polycentric energy governance: Under what conditions do energy communities scale?

Sustainability of local renewable energy projects: A comprehensive framework and an empirical analysis on two islands

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