Abstract
In this paper, we analyze consumer attitudes toward and interest in community energy storage (CES) in Germany, based on five focus group discussions and an online survey of private owners of photovoltaic (PV) systems, as well as written surveys and workshops with the residents of two residential developments where CES has been installed. We find that owners of PV systems are generally receptive to the idea of CES but are unfamiliar with it. They assume that CES is more resource- and cost-efficient than residential storage and appreciate the idea of professionally managed operation and maintenance, but are skeptical of whether fair and transparent distribution and billing can be realized. Consumers express a need for ancillary services, such as monitoring, information or energy management, but the interest in such services, however, is strongly dependent on their perception of the costs versus potential savings.
Highlights
One option to increase the utilization of energy from volatile renewable sources is implementation of energy storage at the household level [1]
PV system users expressed a substantial interest in energy storage systems: In the online survey, 87.4 percent of the respondents without their own energy storage system expressed an interest in investing in such a system
The online survey included a ranking question on the motive for having bought or being interested in an energy storage system
Summary
One option to increase the utilization of energy from volatile renewable sources is implementation of energy storage at the household level [1]. In the context of energy transition, local communities in cities, towns and villages worldwide are coming together to create their own future vision of how to achieve an energy supply based on 100 percent renewable energies, as well as other climate mitigation goals [6] Many of these communities are engaged in diverse energy-related activities and projects [7], including in part the installation of community energy storage (CES), which provides greater flexibility, higher efficiency, and lower losses as compared to residential energy storage [8]. Existing studies on consumer views were conducted without including consumers who have practical experience with community battery storage They mostly rely on a single research method or a combination of two methods. In contrast to these studies, we use a mixed method approach with an online survey, focus groups and research in two neighborhoods where residents had practical
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