From Centralized Energy Generation and Distribution to Clean Energy Communities: Exploring New Modes of Governance for the Energy Sector

Abstract

Community management is swiftly developing into a central research field in management literature. A growing body of conceptual and empirical studies is concerned with different aspects of communities, their initiation, management, and termination. One sector that offers a particularly exciting research topic in this respect is the energy sector. We elaborate on the radical transition of the energy industry from large, centralized power-generation facilities to a much more decentralized, community-based production of energy. We scrutinize the theoretical perspectives on managing communities and distinguish between different modes of governance for the production of energy. We also consider recent European Union initiatives that will have a noteworthy effect on the transition process. Our typology shows that the necessary management tasks vary across different types of coordination. Eventually, the establishment of clean energy communities might challenge the very identities of established utility providers.