A Process Approach to Mainstreaming Civic Energy

McGovern, Gerard; Klenke, Thomas

doi:10.3390/en11112914

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The interview partners were selected not only due to their experience in prioritizing civic energy within their own organizations but also due to their familiarity with a collaboratively developed civic energy process design [43], which enabled them to assess the role of policy enablers up against other decisive process elements and enablers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These temporary, small-scale rules are, in turn, evaluated after a speci ed lapse of time, and depending on the results, the legal framework is adjusted in the light of the ndings [40,41]. The advantages of such an approach are threefold: Clari cation of transition uncertainties in particular through testing in (ideally representative) geographical and societal settings prior to new legal stipulations [42] Fewer supply and value chain risks due to the establishment of new proven processes [43] Less effective resistance from vested interests lobbying to protect historical business models [44,45]. Experimentation as a means of overcoming damaging path dependency can draw on the tradition of pragmatist experimental political inquiry as developed by Dewey, who viewed any policy put into practice as an experiment.…”

Section: Experimentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Regional Case for Disruptive Energy Policy: A Civic Energy Perspective

McGovern¹

2021

Preprint

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BackgroundThis paper deploys a regional actor perspective to detect policy enablers of and barriers to the uptake of civic energy. In common with other forms of regional, decentralized energy, the civic energy concept not only challenges historical energy business models but changes the energy agenda to prioritize community development and climate issues. Energy policy needs to react by shifting from purely market regulations to the promotion of shared community energy solutions. Both current energy structures and established policy priorities are unsuited to deliver on widely recognized energy transition and sustainable development goals. Switching from a centralized to a decentralized energy mode is viewed as a major re-structuring of a socio-technical regime. In a series of expert interviews, two disruptive policy approaches, creative destruction and experimentation, are analyzed as to whether they can contribute to overcoming path dependency and carbon lock-in.ResultsThe interviews conducted with local and regional energy facilitators in seven North European countries identified a range of active, predominantly municipal and regional policy enablers of civic energy. Motivation for specific civic energy initiatives was derived from the translation of global climate goals such as the Paris Agreement into more focused and therefore tangible local targets, which acted as direct policy enablers. At the same time critical inconsistencies and a lack of coherence were identified in several national and European energy policy mixes. Over and above dismantling existing administrative and legislative restrictions on civic energy uptake, experimentation is needed to develop new community partnerships that can host civic energy initiatives and mobilize untapped local energy resources.ConclusionsMastering the uncertainties of re-framing energy systems requires systematic experimentation and an extended mandate for local and regional authorities. Whereas the fossil versus renewable energy policy debate seems to have been won, the shift from centralized to decentralized systems threatens existing power structures and remains highly contentious.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Regional Case for Disruptive Energy Policy: A Civic Energy Perspective

McGovern¹

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…The processes for successful civic energy projects were studied by McGovern and Klenke [27]. They developed the "Civic Energy Cycle" to support community initiatives.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yildiz et al [26] point out the high importance of CE initiatives as they represent a synthesis of technological and social change. The CE initiatives present a challenging concept to analyse due to their inherent diversity and complexity compared to the traditional, centralized energy model with undemocratically run concerns [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Success factors of citizen energy cooperatives in north western Germany: a conceptual and empirical review

Ahlemeyer¹,

Griese²,

Wawer³

et al. 2022

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background Citizen energy cooperatives (CECOs) are an important element for realising the transformation of the European energy system from a central system, dominated by a few market players to a decentralized system with the participation of many citizens, in which energy supply is largely based on renewable energy sources. This article identifies success factors that ensure a working organization that is capable of implementing projects to support the energy transition and improving the well-being of citizens. Methods The aim of this study is to identify success factors using the example of CECOs in north western Germany through a two-step process. The first step is a literature review to identify success factors of CECOs. Second, 12 semi-structured expert interviews with managers of CECOs are conducted and evaluated by means of a qualitative content analysis. The interviews identified the success factors and barriers of CECOs. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The coding process was carried out using a qualitative data analysis software (ATLAS.ti 8.4.5,). Results The results show that three factors particular should be present, but can influence each other, to lead to successful CECOs: (1) the CECOs require business models with low complexity, as business models that span different stages of the value chain can overwhelm organizational managers. (2) Committed key individuals must be found and promoted. They need the support of the members. (3) Social and ecological principles are the core values of CECOs. The maintenance and strengthening of social–ecological credibility must be promoted in the public perception. Conclusions The results show that CECOs emerge from a strong social cohesion in a society. In addition, local "key individuals" need to be identified and supported. To this end, the framework conditions (e.g., policy, legislation, municipal support, etc.) must be adapted in such a way that these "key individuals" in CECOs are not overburdened. The analysis of the interviews also revealed that political or regulatory barriers are often cited as obstacles to the implementation of community energy projects.

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“…Controversies and possibilities in making LFM a contagious part of the grid have also been investigated [8]. We can further see a proliferation of literature on prosumers' role in the future energy management schemes, particularly the motivations, roadblocks, and instruments enabling their robust participation [19,21,22]. Previous studies have also examined the changing energy business models due to platform development [23], digitalization in smart grid networks [24], as well as the role of prosumers in the digital energy ecosystem [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ushering in a New Dawn: Demand-Side Local Flexibility Platform Governance and Design in the Finnish Energy Markets

et al. 2021

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Energy ecosystems are under a significant transition. Local flexibility marketplaces (LFM) and platforms are argued to have significant potential in contributing to such a transition. The purpose of this study was to answer the following research question: how do market conditions and stakeholders shape emerging LFM platform governance choices? We approached this objective with an exploratory single-case study by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the Finnish energy ecosystem. The results of the content and pattern analyses revealed the key challenges to LFM implementation such as the current regulatory treatment of flexibility, high costs of gadget installations, and ensuring sufficient liquidity in the market. In addition, we also demonstrated that despite such barriers, the Finnish ecosystem is largely pragmatic about LFMs’ in its midst. All in all, we contributed to the non-technological streams of LFM literature by developing an exhaustive framework with four distinctive dimensions (i.e., ecosystem readiness, value-creation logic, platform architecture and governance, platform competitiveness) for LFM development, which helps academics, practitioners, and policy-makers to understand how novel platforms emerge and develop.

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A Process Approach to Mainstreaming Civic Energy

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

The Regional Case for Disruptive Energy Policy: A Civic Energy Perspective

The Regional Case for Disruptive Energy Policy: A Civic Energy Perspective

Success factors of citizen energy cooperatives in north western Germany: a conceptual and empirical review

Ushering in a New Dawn: Demand-Side Local Flexibility Platform Governance and Design in the Finnish Energy Markets

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