Distributed Energy Systems and Energy Communities Under Negotiation

Abstract

BackgroundNew decentralized energy-generation technologies have turned economies of scale upside down while becoming more economically viable. The increased penetration of information technologies has led to new opportunities to manage infrastructure in a less hierarchical, more flexible way. Together with citizen demands for control over energy, this has put energy communities (ECs) on the agenda, potentially advancing the transition towards more sustainable energy systems, despite hindrances encountered on the way.This paper presents a case from Sweden, using participatory observations and interviews conducted during the planning of a sustainable city district built around sharing. We examined the discussions between stakeholders concerning smart energy systems and the establishment of a microgrid.ResultsWe found that the discussions of the microgrid comprised two parallel discourses, coexisting but seldomly explicitly confronted. The distribution system operator in the area promoted its solutions, while the property developers opted for a microgrid organized more as an EC. We discuss why the EC proponents apparently lost the battle in this smart grid case.ConclusionsThis paper described the energy planning process in a case study in Sweden, where two different models for building an electric microgrid can be identified: distributed energy systems and energy community perspectives. We suggest that these perspectives have different values. We conclude that interest in microgrids could shift the transition pathway towards a more decentralized system involving a variety of owners.