Exploring modes of sustainable value co-creation in renewable energy communities

Abstract

The renewable energy transition has prompted research into what business models in the transforming energy sector can look like. One key development of the spread of renewable energy technologies has been the emergence of citizens as engaged stakeholders in the energy transition through so-called energy communities. Energy communities, whether initiated by citizens, the private sector, or municipality, have the opportunity to leverage the engagement and skills of “energy citizens” in order to create sustainable value for the environment and community. We explore sustainable value co-creation between citizens and other stakeholders in the setting of the Positive Energy District (PED), a particular type of energy community. This leads us to analyze PEDs through the lens of business models for sustainability, using a stakeholder theory approach, as a way to understand how different stakeholders contribute to the overall sustainability goal of the community. In particular, we focus on the many roles citizens can play and extent in which they can be involved in value co-creation. We conclude that PEDs are polycentric business models in themselves wherein vision-holding stakeholder guide the dynamics of the PED ecosystem. Our findings point to further potential opportunities for sustainable value co-creation in PEDs and similar settings and open questions as to what extent citizens should be integrated into business models operating in such settings.