Abstract
Community energy (CE) and grassroots innovations have been widely studied in recent years, especially in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, but very little focus has been placed on Sweden. This paper describes and analyses the development and present state of several types of community energy initiatives in Sweden. The methodology uses interviews, document studies, analysis of previous studies, and website analysis. The results show that fewer initiatives have been taken in Sweden than in other countries, but that even with a rather ‘hostile’ institutional setting CE has emerged as a phenomenon. Wind cooperatives are the most common form of initiative, with solar photovoltaics cooperatives and eco-villages also prominent. The various types of initiatives differ considerably, from well-organized wind cooperatives that have grown into professional organizations to small-scale hydroelectric power plants owned by a rural community. The initiatives may have modest impact on the energy transition in quantitative terms, but they are crucial in knowledge sharing and as inspirations for future initiatives.
Highlights
In the Energy Union package of 2015 the European Commission emphasized the citizens’ role for a clean energy transition
We present the main types of Community energy (CE) and discuss the emergence, goals, organization forms, and geographical distribution
We identified around 140 active CE initiatives, and around 20 previously active ones
Summary
In the Energy Union package of 2015 the European Commission emphasized the citizens’ role for a clean energy transition. Citizens are expected to “take ownership” of the energy transition and participate actively in the market [1]. The idea is to enable citizens to become knowledgeable participants in energy transitions. Photovoltaics with promising development in energy storage together with an increasing presence of technologies allowing active engagement from the users contribute to the rise of new business models with the potential to challenge the traditional energy market value chain (for example, peer-to-peer trading). New energy communities are developing around the world These energy communities have different characteristics at different places [6] but can involve partnership between citizens, industry, and municipalities
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