The contribution of collective prosumers to the energy transition in Europe - Preliminary estimates at European and country-level from the COMETS inventory

Schwanitz, Valeria Jana; Wierling, A.; Zeiß, Jan Pedro; Beck, Constantin von; Koren, Ingrid Knutsdotter; Marcroft, Timothy; Müller, Lukáš; Getabecha, Melake; Dufner, Simon

doi:10.31235/osf.io/2ymuh

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…On the European scale, there are over 8 400 energy initiatives, of which 7 700 are energy communities [35,141], and a total of over 1 250 000 citizens are involved [135]. The organization REScoop.eu is the European federation for renewable energy cooperatives and has a growing network of 3 300 European energy cooperatives [134] and over 1 900 communities [135].…”

Section: -Energy Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pricing mechanisms for energy communities : the Gridflex Heeten project

Reijnders¹

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Section: -Energy Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pricing mechanisms for energy communities : the Gridflex Heeten project

Reijnders¹

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Ecological, financial, social and societal motives for cooperative energy prosumerism: measuring preference heterogeneity in a Belgian energy cooperative

van Klingeren,

De Moor

2024

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background Energy cooperatives in Europe have become more prominent due to the growing interest in and development of renewable energy sources. Cooperatives are often seen as an instrument in the transition to a low-carbon future. The cooperative prosumer is gaining importance, taking on the role of both consumer and producer by setting up and joining electricity cooperatives as investors, shareholders and clients. As is the case with other cooperatives and social enterprises, there are tensions and trade-offs to be made between social, ecological and financial goals. To navigate these tensions and to work towards becoming a resilient institution, it is important that cooperatives preserve their support base made up of their members, who are both clients and shareholders. This study investigates the preference heterogeneity and motivations of members of a large energy cooperative in Belgium, by using stated-choice data from a Discrete Choice Experiment in combination with self-reported membership motives. Results Despite the significant presence of member preferences for participation and democratic voting rights, the financial and above all the ecological motives seem to be most important for being a member of the energy cooperative. Based on the stated-choice data, we classify three member types: the financial, the ecological and the social–societal member type. We find a small discrepancy in motives between members who joined early and members who joined later. Where early members care most about ecological aspects, members who joined later have more societal and financial considerations. In terms of effect size and willingness to pay per kilowatt hour, ecological motives prove to be by far the most important factor for cooperative energy prosumers in our sample. In addition, the latent-class analysis shows that over half of the member sample belongs to the ecological motives class. Conclusions Preference heterogeneity is present to an extent, but there is an overarching preference for sustainability. Though, cooperatives should be aware that their legal form may not be the only factor that drives membership. Rather, keeping high levels of renewable energy, competitive pricing and being an interesting investment opportunity may be key to cooperatives’ resilience and further development on the energy market.

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Civic Energy in an Orchard Farm–Prosumer and Energy Cooperative—A New Approach to Electricity Generation

Łakomiak

2022

Energies

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In Poland, electricity production is based on nonrenewable energy sources. The energy market is dominated by corporations. Rising electricity prices and threats of power shortages have become, among others, prerequisites for the development of distributed sources based on renewable sources, primarily using photovoltaic panels. The development of the renewable energy market is slow due to the lack of legal solutions and insufficient state support. Polish farmers, especially fruit growers, whose electricity consumption costs are a significant item in production costs, may become part of the energy sector by building a local energy system. In 2022, Poland introduced two new legal regulations, which currently provide three options for obtaining electricity using renewable micro-installations. The conducted study aimed at indicating which of the legally permitted option is the most advantageous for fruit farms in Poland. Growers can produce energy by being a prosumer who settles accounts in the net-metering and net-billing system and by participating in an energy cooperative. The direction of changes was ascertained by conducting a pilot study among fruit growers. The study used real quantitative and valuable data on the consumption and costs of electricity in 2012–2022 and the production of photovoltaic panels in a fruit farm in 2021. The study consisted of comparing three models of settling accounts for electricity with two comparative models in two scenarios. The analysis of prosumers’ functioning showed that the situation in Poland is favorable for the development of civic energy. However, participation in an energy cooperative with new legal solutions will not always be the more advantageous solution in terms of economy and energy. In particular, the study showed that the support mechanism needs further changes. The results of the research confirm the existing potential of fruit farms, which can be developed in the area of securing energy needs. The results of this research can be used as the premise for introducing changes to the legal conditions for the establishment and operation of energy cooperatives in Poland.

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The contribution of collective prosumers to the energy transition in Europe - Preliminary estimates at European and country-level from the COMETS inventory

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Pricing mechanisms for energy communities : the Gridflex Heeten project

Pricing mechanisms for energy communities : the Gridflex Heeten project

Ecological, financial, social and societal motives for cooperative energy prosumerism: measuring preference heterogeneity in a Belgian energy cooperative

Civic Energy in an Orchard Farm–Prosumer and Energy Cooperative—A New Approach to Electricity Generation

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