Social sciences introduction. Local energy communities : State of the art and chapters' cross-sectional analysis

International audienceAssociating the subject of energy with a notion that is widely used in the English-speaking world, the term ‘energy community’ usually refers to a grouping of individuals or legal entities actively involved in a project of production and/or consumption of renewable energy. This active involvement of members often occurs on a local scale. After a summary of the state of the art of the community and local dimensions in English- and French-language social science literature, this text makes a transversal analysis of the 14 chapters of the book ‘Local Energy Communities’, approaching them through four questions: Why and how do members commit to energy community projects? How are energy communities local? Why are there so many different types of energy communities? What questions do energy communities pose to energy democracy