Exploring Institutional and Socio-Economic Settings for the Development of Energy Communities in Europe
Alessandro Sciullo,
Gregory Winston Gilcrease,
Mario Perugini,
Dario Padovan,
Barbara Curli,
Jay Sterling Gregg,
Osman Arrobbio,
Erika Meynaerts,
Sarah Delvaux,
Lucia Polo-Alvarez,
Chiara Candelise,
Esther van der Waal,
Henny van der Windt,
Wit Hubert,
Nele Ivask,
Marek Muiste
Affiliations
Alessandro Sciullo
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy
Gregory Winston Gilcrease
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy
Mario Perugini
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy
Dario Padovan
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy
Barbara Curli
Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy
Jay Sterling Gregg
Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technology Transitions and System Innovation Division, UNEP-DTU Partnership, UN City, Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Osman Arrobbio
Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
Erika Meynaerts
VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
Sarah Delvaux
VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
Lucia Polo-Alvarez
TECNALIA-Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia, Astondo Bidea, Edificio 700, 48160 Derio, Spain
Chiara Candelise
GREEN Research Centre, Bocconi University, Via Röntgen 1, 20136 Milan, Italy
Esther van der Waal
IREES, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Henny van der Windt
IREES, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Wit Hubert
Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University, 30-962 Krakow, Poland
Nele Ivask
Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA), 51009 Tartu, Estonia
Marek Muiste
Tartu Regional Energy Agency (TREA), 51009 Tartu, Estonia
Energy communities (ECs), intended as collective action initiatives in the energy field involving citizens’ participation, have been gaining relevance for the past decades as an alternative way to organize the energy chain to challenge the incumbent system. With Europe’s recently adopted Clean Energy Package, ECs found a formal recognition by the European Union as potential actors of the transition of the energy system towards a wider and more decentralized use of renewable sources. Although the potential role of ECs in the transition is therefore hardly questionable, a thorough comprehension of the enabling factors that might foster their diffusion and scaling up is still lacking. Through a comparative analysis of the evolutionary trajectories in six EU countries regarding their energy systems, their regulatory frameworks and their historical evolution of ECs, namely through the example of cooperative models, this paper aims at providing some preliminary evidence about the factors and dynamics that seem to have played, and may play, a role in hampering or facilitating EC model diffusion. Attention is therefore specifically paid to three dimensions of analysis referring to: the energy mix and market structure; the institutional and policy landscape; the wider social attitudes towards environmental issues and cooperation among citizens. In addition to providing a wide comparison of different EU countries, the paper shows that the historical evolution pathways have to be carefully taken into account to understand what might trigger ECs exploitation in the EU.