Scientific approaches of community energy, a literature review

In several European countries, an increasing part of the production of renewableenergy is generated by citizen-owned production units. These units are installedand managed individually or by local communities, and the number of localenergy initiatives, who aim to increase local energy production, is risingrapidly. This has resulted in a new research area we label as community energy.Community energy is defined as local production of renewable energy, governedby citizens, with a view to contribute to the transition to a sustainable energysystem. In this study, the authors use community energy to encompass severalterms that have been used so far in the literature, such as citizen’s power,grassroots energy, and local governance of energy production. They specificallyaddress the role of the individual, acting as consumer, prosumer or citizen.The aim of the study is to identify the key issues and concepts covered in thecommunity energy literature so far and to reflect on how it is being studied.It shows community energy is studied from a variety of perspectives, deliveringinsights that range from individual motivations of members to join thesegroups, the organisation of local community initiatives, their relations with localgovernments, regional support organisations and networks, to national policiesthat aim to stimulate decentralized community owned energy production. Allapproaches will have to specify and develop in order to understand and explaincommunity energy in more detail. In addition, there is room to further reflect onthe agency that is employed by local communities and how bottom-up changesin the energy structure occur. The authors argue that the study and practice ofcommunity energy could benefit from a transdisciplinary research approach,which integrates perspectives of multiple academic disciplines and non-academicstakeholders. Moreover, this could lead to policy development that is science-based and practice oriented