Accountability implications for intermediaries in upscaling: Energy community rollouts in Portugal

Abstract

With the increasing diffusion of solar energy, its conditioning by intermediaries merits attention. Depending on the accountability relations between stakeholders, intermediaries can influence the speed of diffusion. We examine these aspects in the intensifying solar rollout in Portugal, a country with high energy prices, relatively low wages, and ambitious climate mitigation plans. Competitive modular photovoltaic costs and enabling energy community legislation have recently prompted several intermediaries to participate in developing energy communities. We analyse the roles of four types of organisations as intermediaries: non-profit institutions, municipalities, new entrant companies with innovative business models and the renewables arm of the incumbent. Their activities influence market structuration and, thus, the nature of the solar PV rollout. Each intermediary legitimises its role through various practices. Whereas some leverage existing networks, others combine innovative business models with the facilitation of energy infrastructure to advance replicable prototypes. Based on three months of multi-sited fieldwork in 2022 featuring 36 interviews, we analyse the emergent roles of intermediaries. In concert with the scholarship on market creation and diffusion pathways, we advance understanding of diffusion in a financially constrained context.