Stakeholder demands and regulatory framework for community energy storage with a focus on Germany

Abstract

Community energy storage (CES) can provide for a variety of services and offers the possibility of combining individual needs with grid services. Hence, CES has the potential to play an important role in the energy transition, especially for a sustainable urban energy supply. In Germany, however, progress in this field has been slow due to a complex regulatory framework and limited transdisciplinary research.This paper focuses on an analysis of the regulatory framework in Germany and the demands of the various stakeholders. What opportunities does CES hold for private and public stakeholders? What are the barriers? To answer this, we conducted a literature review on CES, identifying the regulatory and political framework in Germany and Europe. In spring 2018, we conducted structured interviews with 17 professionals from various municipalities, regional authorities, energy suppliers, grid operators, and storage manufacturers.Both the literature review and our interviews show that in order to achieve greater implementation CES needs to fulfil multiple services to optimize its utility and meet the demands of all stakeholders. Moreover, our research reveals that in Germany one of the biggest obstacles faced by CES, other than a complex regulatory framework, is the lack of a clear legal definition.