Unlocking Energy Communities: A Unified Approach for the EU

In Europe the electricity production and use sector account for over 75% of GHG emissions. To achieve the energy transition, the European commission set a target of producing 42.5% of renewable energy by 2030 in its Renewable Energy Directive (European Commission, 2018), also outlining new provisions for Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). Citizen engagement in RECs and hence increased energy citizenship is claimed to be necessary if EU targets, and the energy transition are to be achieved.

Questions remain on how citizens can and want to be engaged in RECs and if there could be an engagement blueprint across European Nations. There are many possible constellations of RECs, leading to different engagement possibilities. Hence, understanding preferences for engaging in RECs, expressed by different societal and cultural groups, across Europe can support REC development and increase engagement.

Using a discrete choice experiment from 6888 participants, this research investigates preferences for REC engagement strategies, focusing on 1. frequency of engagement (e.g. yearly, monthly, weekly etc.), 2. financial and non-financial engagement strategies (e.g., gamification, investment, information); and 3. varying levels of automated energy use (e.g. automation with no opt out to occasional monitoring) for potential members of RECs. We explore differences and similarities in preferences across seven European nations (AT, GR, HU, IE, PT, ES, CH), and using latent class analysis, we investigate preference clusters to develop potential REC user profiles. Findings reveal some similarities and differences across countries and a surprising openness to automation with op-out. The talk will summarize our key findings.