Energy communities: a Dutch case study

In this chapter the concepts of citizen energy communities and the energy and flexibility services they could provide are discussed. As these communities are arising throughout the world, their underlying motivations and barriers are examined. The main motivation for prosumers to join an energy community is increased environmental awareness, while the main barrier is the lack of regulatory clarity. The chapter features GridFlex Heeten, an energy community research project in The Netherlands, where it was examined by how much the stress on the grid could be lowered using the flexibility of batteries and the inhabitants. By using a novel pricing mechanism, it was shown that the peaks could be lowered by up to 36% while also achieving savings for the community