We analyze the literature regarding community energy. We investigate theappearance of studies in the literature and the geographical orientation of the case studies, as well as the actual journals where the articles are published. We relate the articles to the theoretical approaches that are being employed. We analyze keywords used by the authors in their study of community energy and reflect on the country specifics of the case studies. We conclude that the study of community energy is still in its infancy as there is little commonality in the terminology and key concepts used.Further, we conclude that the theoretical underpinnings of studying community energy are in progress.
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The community renewable energy is often seen as the way to address the societal challenge of energy transition. Many scholars foresee a key role for community energy in accelerating of the energy transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. For example, some authors investigated the transformative role of community renewable energy in the energy transition process (Seyfang and Smith, 2007; Seyfang and Haxeltine 2012; Seyfang et al. 2013; Seyfang et al. 2014; Smith et al. 2017; Martiskainen, 2017; Ruggiero et al. 2018; Hasanov and Zuidema, 2018; de Boer et al. 2018). Recognising the importance of community energy many scholars studied different internal and external conditions that contribute or hinder the success of local renewable energy initiatives (Walker et al. 2007; Bomberg and McEwen, 2012; Seyfang et al. 2013; Wirth, 2014; Hasanov and Zuidema, 2018; Ruggiero et al. 2018). One of such conditions contributing to the success of community energy initiatives is the capacity to adopt and utilize new technologies, for example, in the area of energy storage, which would increase flexibility and resilience of the communal energy supply systems.However, as noted by Ruggiero et al. (2018), the scholarship remains unclear on “how a very diverse and relatively small sector such as community energy could scale up and promote a change in the dominant way of energy production”. What is then the real transformative power of local renewable energy initiatives and whether community energy can offer an alternative to the existing energy system? This paper aims to answer these questions by confronting the critical review of theory with the recent practice of community energy in the Netherlands to build and scale up independent and self-sustaining renewable energy supply structures on the local and national scale and drafting perspectives on the possible role of community energy in the new energy system.
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Far from being negligible in quantity, decentralized energy production delivers a considerable part of the renewable energy production in the Netherlands. Decentralized production takes place by individual households, companies as well as citizen groups. Grassroots initiatives have sprung up in the Netherlands in the last 5 years, in a recent inventory 313 formally instituted local energy cooperatives were found. Cooperatives’ aims are sustainability, strengthening local economy and promoting a democratic governance structure for energy production.The energy industry in the Netherlands has traditionally been dominated by large energy companies, and the Groningen gas field has resulted in a very high dependency on natural gas for both consumer and business households. The climate for grassroots initiatives has improved since the so-called Energy Covenant in 2013. This covenant pertains to an agreement between government, industry representatives, labor unions and non-governmental organizations to arrive at a substantial reduction of energy use, ambitious increase in the production of renewable energy, and new jobs in the renewable energy sector.The covenant also announced new policies to stimulate community energy activities, such as the Zip-code-rose policy . The governmental interest in new forms of energy transition, is also demonstrated by the ‘Experiments Electricity Law’ facility, which gives local business and community initiatives an opportunity to experiment with a local energy system. This policy is meant as a ‘learning facility’; experiences are expected to lead to adaptations in Dutch electricity law and regulation.
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Reducing energy consumption in urban households is essential for reaching the necessary climate research and policy targets for CO2 reduction and sustainability. The dominant approach has been to invest in technological innovations that increase household energy efficiency. This article moves beyond this approach, first by emphasising the need to prioritise reducing energy demand over increasing energy efficiency and, second, by addressing the challenge of energy consumption at the level of the community, not the individual household. It argues that energy consumption is shaped in and by social communities, which construct consciousness of the energy implications of lifestyle choices. By analysing a specific type of community, a digital community, it looks at the role that communication on online discussion boards plays in the social process of questioning energy needs and shaping a “decent lifestyle”. The article explores three social processes of community interaction around energy practices – coercive, mimetic, and normative – questioning the ways in which they contribute to the activation of energy discursive consciousness. In conclusion, the article reflects on the potential implications of these social processes for future research and interventions aimed at reducing energy demand. To illustrate how the three selected social processes influence one another, the article builds on the results of a research project conducted in Amsterdam, analysing the potential contribution of online discussion boards in shaping energy norms in the Sustainable Community of Amsterdam Facebook group.
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The paper studies the impact of complex interrelationships between economic, societal, and political realms at multiple levels on the role of community energy initiatives in the energy transition process. The paper focuses specifically on the Netherlands, because of two aspects: (1) existence of the strong political support and favourable regulatory framework for development of community energy, and (2) the systemic challenge of the Dutch energy transition due to the largely fossil-based energy system. The paper identifies systemic, institutional, ideational, or communicative determinants of the role of community renewable energy in the conditions of political support and systemic lock-in.
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Energy poverty is a growing concern in the Netherlands due to the rising gas and electricity prices. There are three main contributors to energy poverty: low income, high fuel costs and energy inefficient homes. Energy poverty effects can have significant consequences, influencing both physical and mental health, increasing the chances of becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty and social isolation. Usually, policy making approaches to combat energy poverty mainly focus on financial support on a household scale or on prices regulating efforts. However, this study argues that actions on a community level could also contribute to alleviating the impacts that energy poverty has on citizens’ lives. For example, community centers in low-income neighborhoods could potentially play a catalyst role in alleviating the effects of energy poverty by exemplifying energy saving techniques, catering to the needs of residents, increasing social cohesion and inspiring collective action. This research explores strategic design interventions through a whole system’s lens; social, energy and nature, that can be applied to the new VanHouten community center in the Oosterpark district of Groningen, the Netherlands. This is a historic, former school building, under a restoration and reuse process, owned by the municipality. Literature reviews, participatory events and interviews have been used to explore the possibilities to mitigate energy poverty, within a research by design process. Beyond the local case, the findings lay the groundwork for more systematic studies on how to alleviate the impact of energy poverty on a community level.
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Contribution to the conference: International Conference on New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage, 6-7 June 2019ABSTRACTThe community renewable energy is often seen as the way to address the societal challenge of energy transition. Many scholars foresee a key role for community energy in accelerating of the energy transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. For example, some authors investigated the transformative role of community renewable energy in the energy transition process (Seyfang and Smith, 2007; Seyfang and Haxeltine 2012; Seyfang et al. 2013; Seyfang et al. 2014; Smith et al. 2017; Martiskainen, 2017; Ruggiero et al. 2018; Hasanov and Zuidema, 2018; de Boer et al. 2018). Recognising the importance of community energy many scholars studied different internal and external conditions that contribute or hinder the success of local renewable energy initiatives (Walker et al. 2007; Bomberg and McEwen, 2012; Seyfang et al. 2013; Wirth, 2014; Hasanov and Zuidema, 2018; Ruggiero et al. 2018). One of such conditions contributing to the success of community energy initiatives is the capacity to adopt and utilize new technologies, for example, in the area of energy storage, which would increase flexibility and resilience of the communal energy supply systems.However, as noted by Ruggiero et al. (2018), the scholarship remains unclear on “how a very diverse and relatively small sector such as community energy could scale up and promote a change in the dominant way of energy production”. What is then the real transformative power of local renewable energy initiatives and whether community energy can offer an alternative to the existing energy system? This paper aims to answer these questions by confronting the critical review of theory with the recent practice of community energy in the Netherlands to build and scale up independent and self-sustaining renewable energy supply structures on the local and national scale and drafting perspectives on the possible role of community energy in the new energy system.
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This working paper is a deliverable of ESTRAC Transforming Regions, a joint initiative of knowledge and research institutes TNO (ECN), Hanze University of Applied Sciences, University of Groningen and New Energy Coalition.
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Uit het rapport: "Deze onderzoeksagenda is tot stand gebracht door de lectoren die samenwerken in het Nationaal Lectoren Platform Urban Energy. Alle betrokkenen bij het platform zijn in staat gesteld om bij te dragen aan de tekst, speciale dank daarbij voor de bijdragen en commentaren vanuit de TKI Urban Energy en de HCA topsector Energie."
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This is a review of the literature on community energy. We analyze more than 250 studies that appeared in the academic literature in the period 1997-2018. We investigate the timing regarding the appearance of these studies, the geographical orientation of the research, and the journals in which the articles appeared. We also analyse the keywords used to identify the research. Further, we relate the articles to the theoretical perspectives employed. We also analyse keywords used by the authors in relation to the particular approaches employed and reflect on the country specifics of the case studies. We find that the majority of studies on community energy did appear in the last couple of years. Especially the UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands are being investigated. Energy Policy published most of the studies. Different theoretical perspectives study community energy, especially Governance, Sociology, Economics, Planning, Technology, and Transition. We conclude that the study of community energy is still in its infancy as there is little commonality in the terminology and key concepts used. Studying community energy requires further improvement in order to better integrate the different theoretical perspectives and to ground policy decisions.
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