Renewable Energy Communities and the Low Carbon Energy Transition in Europe

This volume addresses renewable energy communities, and in particular renewable energy cooperatives (REScoops), in the context of the revised EU Renewables Directive. It provides a comprehensive account of the history and development of the renewable energy community movement in over six different countries of continental Europe. It addresses their visions, strategy, organisation, agency, and more particularly the challenges they encounter. This is of particular importance to gain more understanding into how renewable energy communities fare in domestic energy markets where they are confronted with regime institutions, structures and incumbents’ agency that tend to favour maintaining of the status quo while blocking attempts to empower and institutionalise renewable energy communities as market entrants having a disruptive, radical green and localist agenda. This volume will be an invaluable reference for academics and practitioners with an interest in social innovation in sustainable transitions, the role of community energy in energy markets, their agency, as well as an outlook to the impact that the EU Renewables Directive may have to change national legislation and policy frameworks to create a level playing field that is essentially more fair and beneficial to renewable energy communities.

Frans H.J.M. Coenen is Associate Professor within the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences of the University of Twente. Over the years, his research particular focused on local and regional sustainable development and capacity development for sustainable development. He takes a special interest in participation in sustainable development in relation to the quality of environmental decision-making. He is specialised in environmental policy planning and in public policy evaluation. At this moment, he is involved in several research projects in the field of renewable energy and the local energy transition.

Thomas Hoppe holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration specializing in Public Policy and Environmental Policy, and a PhD in Public Policy at the University of Twente. He is currently Associate Professor within the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management at Delft University of Technology. His research line is about governance of energy transition in cities and regions, focusing on low carbon cities, policy and social innovation. This more specifically includes community energy and co-creation. Dr. Hoppe has been involved in multiple European Union research projects and has co-edited eight special issues in academic journals. He is chairman of the Platform of Social Innovation in the Energy Transition, and is in the Editorial Board of Energy, Sustainability and Society.