Social Innovation in Community Energy in Europe: A Review of the Evidence

Abstract

Citizen-driven Renewable Energy (RE) projects of various kinds, known collectively as community energy (CE), have an important part to play in the worldwide transition to cleaner energy systems. On the basis of evidence from 8 European countries, we investigate CE, over approximately the last 50 years (c.1970-2018), through the lens of Social Innovation (SI). We carry out a detailed review of literature around the social dimension of renewable energy; we collect, describe and map CE initiatives from Belgium, and the UK; and we unpack the SI concept into 4 operational criteria which we suggest are essential to recognizing SI in CE. These are: (1) Crises and opportunities; (2) the agency of civil society; (3) reconfiguration of social practices, institutions and networks; (4) new ways of working. We identify three main phases of SI in CE. The environmental movements of the 1960s and the "oil shocks" of the 1970s provided the catalyst for a series of innovative societal responses around energy and self-sufficiency. A second wave of SI relates to the mainstreaming of RE and associated government support mechanisms. In this phase, with some important exceptions, successful CE initiatives were mainly confined to those countries where they were already embedded as innovators in the previous phase. The third phase of CE innovation relates to the societal response to the Great Recession that began in 2008 and lasted most of the subsequent decade. CE initiatives formed around this time were also strongly focused around democratization of energy and citizen empowerment in the context of rising energy prices, a weak economy, and a production and supply system dominated by excessively powerful multinational energy firms. CE initiatives today are more diverse than at any time previously, and are likely to continue to act as incubators for pioneering initiatives addressing virtually all aspects of energy. However, large multinational energy firms remain the dominant vehicle for delivery of the energy transition, and the apparent excitement in European policy circles for "community energy" does not extend to democratization of energy or genuine empowerment of citizens.

Is community energy really non-existent in post-socialist Europe? Examining recent trends in 16 countries

“…Given the perils of oversimplification and generalizing when explaining the current low incidence of CE in PSECs, with literature on the topic quite scarce [7,13], and uncertainty about the membership of new and/or small organizations in the European federation REScoop.eu [12], we decided to perform an exploratory overview at a country level. The following three steps were applied with the aim of performing a clustering of the development level of CE and RES cooperatives in PSECs:…”

“…According to its statutes it aims to support local farmers [42]. However, a recent review concluded that this project "seems to be an initiative arising from the business sector, rather than a bona fide citizens' movement" [13]. Another RES cooperative, Polska Spóldzielnia Energetycna, is registered in Bielsko Biala, but it is doubtful if it still operates.…”

“…Since 2016, the government has begun to promote "energy clusters"-a contract between different units (individuals, legal persons, business entities, research entities and local municipalities), for the purpose of energy generation, balancing, trade or distribution. There are more than 33 such clusters in operation (they require government approval to operate), mainly focused on energy saving and support of local economies, but a very limited number involve RES and citizen participation [13].…”

“…For example, the European Federation of RES Cooperatives website maps only 3 projects in the PSECs (2 in Croatia and 1 in Slovenia) [12]. The knowledge is however uncertain, as few studies are available on the topic [7,13,14].…”

Oil Price Pass-Through Into Consumer and Producer Prices With Monetary Policy in China: Are There Non-linear and Mediating Effects

“…With the increase of WTI oil prices, cleaner energies, such as electricity and natural gas, offer some alternative products for consumers. Additionally, the attitude of policy gives guidance to households, encouraging them to turn their attention to alternative products and, consequently, changing the relationships between WTI oil prices and both the CPI and MCPI (Hewitt et al, 2019). On the other hand, the diverse passthrough to the CPI and MCPI is heavily dependent on their characteristics; for instance, this result indicated the existence of diverse share prices.…”