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Power to the people: Local community

initiatives and the transition to sustainable
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Article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · March 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089

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 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition

to sustainable energy
Tineke van der Schoor a,b,n, Bert Scholtens c,d
a
Hanze University of Applied Sciences, PO Box 3037, 9701 DA Groningen, The Netherlands
b
Copernicus Institute of Innovation and Sustainability, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
c
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
d
School of Management, University of Saint Andrews, The Gateway, North Haugh, Saint Andrews, Fife, KY16 9RJ Scotland, UK

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The transition towards renewable and sustainable energy is being accompanied by a transformation of
Received 25 March 2014 communities and neighbourhoods. This transition may have huge ramifications throughout society.
Received in revised form Many cities, towns and villages are putting together ambitious visions about how to achieve 100%
25 September 2014
sustainable energy, energy neutrality, zero carbon emission or zero-impact of their communities. We
Accepted 25 October 2014
investigate what is happening at the local community level towards realizing these ambitions from a
social perspective. We use the case study approach to answer the following question: how do local
Keywords: community energy initiatives contribute to a decentralized sustainable energy system? We find that
Decentralized energy production especially the development of a shared vision, the level of activities and the type of organisation are
Energy initiatives
important factors of the strength of the ‘local network’.
Citizen groups
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Energy neutrality
Sustainable energy
Prosumers

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Background regarding approaches of social aspects of energy transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1. Social acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Path creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3. Grass roots innovation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4. Municipal energy plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Case setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3. Framework for analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1. First dimension, relations with outside networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2. Second dimension, degree of commitment of local actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.1. Aspect 1: organisation development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.2. Aspect 2: shared vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.3. Aspect 3: level of activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.3. Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

n
Corresponding author at: Hanze University of Applied Sciences, PO Box 3037, 9701 DA, Groningen, The Netherlands. Tel.: þ31 50 595 5391.
E-mail address: c.van.der.schoor@pl.hanze.nl (T. van der Schoor).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089
1364-0321/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
2 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

1. Introduction of energy production has gone from the hands of local and
regional governing bodies to international energy companies, like
The social impact of renewable energy systems is potentially the German Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerke (RWE) AG
quite different from that of conventional (fossil-based) systems [1]. and the Swedish Vattenfall (see also [10]).2 Consequently, the
More specifically, renewable energy production offers opportu- influence of consumers, local and regional politics on energy
nities for the local governance of energy production, in contrast to generation has become virtually non-existent. Therefore, the
the much more centralized conventional energy production. Many recent mushrooming of energy co-operations on a town- or even
communities and regions have expressed goals to transform their village-scale may seem quite remarkable set against the back-
community to a self-sufficient renewable energy system. Thus, the ground of the international centralized energy system. However,
societal transition to a sustainable energy system may also lead to in part, it also reveals a ‘back to basics’ of energy production. Due
the social transformation of communities and neighbourhoods to technological innovations in especially renewables generation,
[2,3]. This transformation of energy production towards a more small-scale generation and individual choice for green energy has
sustainable and decentralized system is progressing very slowly in become available at almost the same moment in time [11]. In the
the Netherlands. According to Eurostat, renewable energy capacity liberalized EU energy market, consumers can freely choose their
in the EU-27 makes up 8.7% of the total, but that of the Nether- energy provider, so they can ‘vote with their wallet’ [12]. Moreover,
lands is just 3.6%.1 In Europe only the UK and Luxembourg consumers can become producers or ‘prosumers’ by producing
perform worse in this respect. Hence, this makes the Netherlands energy with their own combined heat and power installations, solar
a particularly interesting case, especially because the lagging panels or windmills. This has become an attractive option for a
position seems to be related to ‘soft’ issues, as the technology is growing group of consumers and small to medium sized enterprises.
already freely available. For example, Dutch fiscal policies are at From these economic activities, we witness the development of
present far from conducive to small producers and the national social networks that relate to energy [13]. They are involved in
energy policy appears to be one of the major barriers to change [4]. scaling up from the individual to the community level. In this respect,
Large energy companies voiced the opinion that the Dutch will the affix ‘prosumers’ can be applied to this development of decen-
have to temporize renewable energy. They fear that otherwise tralized energy production [7]. Local community energy initiatives
their recent investments in large coal and gas-fired power plants foster and stimulate this development [8]. More specifically, they
will not become economically profitable. Furthermore, they argue engage with institutionalizing and establish energy-cooperatives and
that an exorbitant growth of renewables will reduce necessary similar organizations, which distribute energy to their own commu-
back up capacity (The Economist, October 12th 2013). However, nity or region. This community option is becoming serious business,
this mainly reveals that they are rather slow in adapting their as is shown by the already considerable and growing amount of local
business model. As a result, the value of their business has been community energy initiatives that are taking off in several European
reduced dramatically over the past couple of years. The incum- countries in the past few years [13–15]. We seek to understand the
bents view renewable energy resources as a threat to their drivers behind this surge of community activity. The literature
business model especially because the marginal costs of the suggests that the provision and promotion of green electricity, the
renewables are way below those of fossil fuels [5]. The opposition strengthening of social cohesion and the investment of revenues in
of energy companies to the energy transition is an example of the the local community are strong motivations for these initiatives [16].
role of vested interests in the energy industry, as suggested by In addition, many people voice ideas about self-empowerment and
Moe [6]. autarky, wishing to become independent from large and interna-
On the other hand, many cities, towns and villages in the tional energy companies [17].
Netherlands have put together ambitious visions about how to We will analyse the activities of these initiatives and especially
become energy neutral, zero-emission or low carbon communities. investigate the potential of their effectiveness and impacts regard-
Almost 500 local initiatives were counted in 2014 (www.hieropge ing the creation of a sustainable local energy community. The key
wekt.nl). Their challenge is to turn these ambitions into reality. question we ask is how do local community energy initiatives
In this paper, we will particularly focus on the bottom-up approaches contribute to a decentralized sustainable energy production sys-
to realize the local community transition to energy sustainability tem? To this extent, we investigate the activities, motives and
from a social sciences perspective. We are very well aware of the fact ambitions of local community energy initiatives, what determines
that this social perspective is not encompassing. There are several their effectiveness, and the barriers they encounter. We expect
technological issues that play a crucial role here. Especially, the that this will help us to arrive at a better understanding of the
development of energy storage systems as “buffer” between demand position and possibilities of local community energy initiatives.
and supply is the highest priority to make renewables grow With our study, we aim to contribute to the literature in three
significantly. Furthermore, distributed grid management is under ways. First is that we expand the teamwork literature by investi-
development to account for any short-term intermittency. Several gating the hitherto uncovered local energy initiatives. So far, most
countries try to care for decentralized production, with an obligation research on teamwork is carried out regarding formal organiza-
of power providers to accommodate the decentralized supply in the tions; therefore we chose to include the model of Gartner [18,19]
grid. In addition, local community initiatives often face the problem in our analysis, as this explicitly covers emerging organizations.
of construction and operation permits, required maintenance and Second is that we use Actor-Network Theory [20,21] and the
other aspects related to decentralized production. Furthermore, apart Pentagram model [22] to analyse how local energy initiatives are
from community initiatives, there also are local initiatives under- related to more overarching networks. So far, these two analytical
taken by municipalities and NGOs. frameworks have not been used to investigate these entities:
The idea that an electricity network should rely on central Nijkamp and Ursem [22] primarily focuses on large cities, whereas
production in large plants situated far from individual consumers Jolivet et al. [21] describe a commercial initiative. Third is that this
has taken hold only in the last decades [9]. Started out as small, is the first empirical study after local community energy initiatives
municipally governed production facilities, energy producers have
become ever-larger companies. At the same time, the governance
2
A thorough assessment about the changing role of some of the major
European energy companies in relation to renewable and sustainable energy is
1
Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a, nrg_1071a and nrg_1072a). provided by Kungl [70].

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 3

in the Netherlands. The latter is of interest given the relatively are set apart until the products can compete on their own.
small share of renewable energy in the current Dutch energy Emerging energy technologies on the local level were analysed
system as was mentioned before. by Raven et al. [29]. According to Hielscher et al. and Hargreaves
The remainder of this article is organized as follows. Section 2 et al., local initiatives can be seen as niches, which are set quite
provides the theoretical background for our analysis. The metho- apart from the business-as-usual or conventional ways of operating
dology and data used is introduced in Section 3. Section 4 presents in the economy [30–32]. An in-depth analysis of the usefulness of
and discusses the results. Section 5 concludes. the niche-concept for grass-roots initiatives is detailed by Seyfang
and Longhurst in a study after currency initiatives [33,28,34].

2. Background regarding approaches of social aspects of 2.3. Grass roots innovation

energy transitions
Studies of grass roots transformation show that grass-roots or
Here, we discuss different theoretical approaches of social aspects bottom up transitions have their source in local networks of
of energy transition. There are several theoretical approaches that engaged citizens, who are moral agents. Kirkman [34] argues that
might help explain the realities of energy policy and local activism. moral agents make ethical choices, but are hindered by ‘limits of
In this section we briefly highlight studies of local energy transfor- agency’; barriers are present both in cultural and political tradi-
mations, which respectively take social acceptance as starting point, tions and in the physical layout of our built environment. Exam-
focus on technological innovation processes, concentrate on grass- ples of barriers are shown and discussed in [35–37]. We aim to
roots innovation, or investigate municipal energy plans. Theoretical develop an approach that accounts for the bottom up path-
lenses used in these approaches include path creation, multi-level creation by local networks of moral agents. To this extent, we will
perspective (MLP), and Actor-Network Theory. We conclude with rely on Actor-Network Theory. Here, socio-technological phenom-
motivating our choice for Actor-Network Theory as the basis for our ena are interpreted as heterogeneous networks, made up of
empirical analysis. human actors and non-human actors such as technological
devices. Law and Callon [38] propose that the level of ‘success’ of
2.1. Social acceptance a project is a function of the degree of mobilization of local actors
and the degree of attachment of actors in the global network. For
Individual citizens as energy users, or as homeowners, have example, Hauber and Ruppert-Winkel in an in-depth study of
attracted the attention of researchers. Often citizens are studied in three rural regions in Germany with strong ambitions to develop
the framework of social acceptance of renewable energy, in this towards energy self-sufficiency, find that social, market as well as
literature willingness to invest in energy efficiency measures by technological aspects are included [39]. They identify three phases
homeowners, plays an important role (see Perlaviciute and Steg [23] in the development of these regions: pioneer phase, pivotal
for an overview). On the other hand, citizen resistance e.g. to the network phase and extended network/ growing market phase.
siting of windmills, has attracted academic interest too. Resistance to Previous research on community energy particularly has been
renewable energy projects is often studied in the frame of NIMBY- done after the UK; following the publication of a UK policy
ism, such as the study of CCS in the North of the Netherlands [24]. document entitled Local Energy Communities. Especially Walker
Wüstenhagen et al. [26] conceptualize social acceptance, identifying and Devine–Wright have published on this topic [13,15,16]. For
three categories of acceptance: socio-political, community and mar- Germany, several studies [40,41] relate to qualitative psychological
ket acceptance. According to Bidmon and Knab [25], energy transi- factors regarding energy initiatives by the public. Walker et al. [42]
tions could be substantially improved by including non-technological argue that the level of acceptance of energy production units is
innovations, such as new business models. Their conceptual discus- stronger when the unit is more open, participatory, local and
sion underpins the importance of appropriate business models in collective. An important factor in this model is ‘trust’; members of
order to further develop niches. This links to the need of market the local community have to trust the local initiative in order to
acceptance as discussed in Wüstenhagen et al. [26]. support, or at least not oppose, the projects that this initiative
Against this background our subject can be placed in the wants to undertake [15]. The absence of trust often leads to
category of community acceptance. The cases in our sample have opposition to sustainable energy projects, as is shown in a number
moved from passive acceptance to active engagement. Therefore, of studies into siting of windmills [21,43]. Then, it seems impor-
our paper studies the processes behind the realization of sustain- tant to investigate which factors might influence ‘trust’. In our
able energy projects by local community initiatives. cases we specifically look at internal trust, because the literature
on advocacy groups – primarily undertaken for the US – suggests
2.2. Path creation that teamwork and internal democracy are important factors that
influence the effectiveness of these groups [44]. On top of this, our
From innovation literature the concept of path creation seems research takes up findings on leadership and teamwork [45],
promising to analyse barriers and incentives in the energy transi- which we apply to the local community energy initiatives.
tion [27]. This idea draws on the metaphor of a development path,
which guides and restricts the development of technologies. 2.4. Municipal energy plans
To create a new path involves a lot of risks in investing financial,
human and knowledge resources in new technologies [28]. How Several case studies have investigated the role of local government
can we interpret the activities of citizens initiatives against the in (renewable) energy planning. For example, St. Denis and Parker
background of path creation? Here the concept of niches as compared the energy plans from 10 Canadian communities, ranging in
proposed in the MLP framework could be of assistance. MLP has size from 500 to 956.000 inhabitants [46]. They observe that renew-
shown to be very productive regarding its application to techno- able energy is not a priority in these plans, rather they focus on energy
logical developments, especially in the field of energy. The route efficiency and conservation. With regard to renewables these plans
for influencing the energy system according to the MLP is by primarily focus on education and awareness-raising, with a view to
protecting and managing niches. In these protected spaces tech- raise the acceptance of renewable energy technologies. A second
nological innovation is supported by for example subsidies or tax aspect is that municipalities undertook activities to lead by example:
incentives and regulations. As such, the technological innovations implementing solar technologies in buildings, or using bio-fuels for

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
4 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

municipal vehicles. Citizen participation in the formulation and usually very limited, in the literature used for this paper we find
implementation of these plans appear rather limited, although con- between two and ten cases. For example, case studies by Hauber and
sultations took place. The municipal energy plans in this study Ruppert-Winkel [39], Mårtensson and Westerberg [47], Arentsen and
apparently did not allow for active citizen engagement. Bellekom [53], Viardot et al. [54], as well as by [55–59], while
Furthermore, Nijkamp and Ursem [22] study municipal policies Saunders et al. study two cases of innovative finance for community
to promote sustainable energy in European cities. They identified energy [60].
five factors that are crucial in attaining successful implementation Therefore, case studies do not lend themselves to statistical
of local energy measures: technology; communication; social analyses. A case study often includes multiple methods of data
conditions; financial requirements and organization. Mårtensson gathering [52]. In our study, information was gathered through
and Westerberg [47] present three qualitative case studies of qualitative interviews, observations during meetings and activ-
municipal bio-energy systems in Sweden. In their study they ities, small-scale surveys, mapping. We also studied websites
re-construct the local processes in order to compare strategic published by the initiatives, printed material and grey literature.
models for energy transformation, sub-processes problem formu- The interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed with NVivo.
lation, mobilization and communication are identified. On the To get an overview of the potential for energy production and
basis of their findings they come up with three strategic models energy saving, we did quick scans of the natural and built
that could be used as a tool for municipalities that want to embark environment of the communities.
on an energy transformation process. Recently, Slee investigates
the roles of community ownership in on-shore wind energy in
Scotland. He argues that this development can empower commu-
3.2. Case setting
nities as well as deliver on governmental energy goals. Further-
more, the analysis of Slee might provide a bridge between
In the period 2010–2013, we analysed the activities of thirteen
governmental policies and community initiatives [71].
local community energy initiatives in the North of the Nether-
In our study, we will apply the literature about local networks to
lands. All initiatives consisted of volunteering citizens. We con-
local energy initiatives. We use a conceptual model based on Callon
tacted these initiatives at regional information meetings on the
and Law to analyse local energy initiatives in the Netherlands. These
subject of local energy production. These community groups have
initiatives may be ‘forming new centres for change’ [34], according
diverse backgrounds, but tend to converge as to their goal of
to Kirkman, who expects that widespread changes can occur once
promoting local energy production. They range from political
local networks team up on a national or global scale. Therefore, we
parties, commercial ventures, and energy cooperatives, to village
propose to analyse the networks of moral agents as the locus of
working groups. An overview is provided in Table 1.
agency. We relate to our empirical research on local energy
They are set within villages or cities that differ widely as to
communities that is explained in the next section.
population size. The smallest initiative in our sample (#9 Wessin-
When analysing local community energy initiatives (in essence
ghuizen) is set in a community of only 28 inhabitants, whereas the
non-profit grassroots organizations) we want to find out if the
largest one (#4 Groningen) is in a city of 200,000. Nine of the 13
non-technological challenges they face mirror the factors recog-
initiatives are set within a village of less than 2000 inhabitants,
nized in St. Denis and Parker [46] and Nijkamp and Ursem [22],
and three in a village with a population between two and 20,000.
who analyse at the level of municipalities and cities respectively.
They are located in different geographical landscapes and focus
More specifically, these energy initiatives face financial challenges,
on various energy technologies. Two of the initiatives (#4 Gronin-
such as finding sufficient funding. Organizational challenges
gen and #11 Franeker; 15%) are in an urban landscape. However,
include safeguarding continuity, exercising effective team leader-
most (85%) are in a rural landscape. With 54% of the cases, there is
ship, and attracting membership. Furthermore, they require reg-
an open landscape, and the remainder is evenly split along
ular communication with their local environment and securing
wooded and mixed landscape. One initiative (#5 Oldehove) is set
municipal and/or regional support. Especially legal procedures can
within a UNESCO heritage landscape. As to the technologies
be rather complicated for non-experts. In addition, the projects
applied, we find that solar energy (mainly PV) is used in nine of
face construction and operation permits, and how to manage
the initiatives (69%). Biomass is used in four (31%). Furthermore, in
required maintenance. Also, the members of these initiatives have
six initiatives (46%) energy efficiency is a point of attention. In case
to familiarize themselves with technological options. But, as
#5, the sustainable use of water is part of the initiative as well.
already mentioned before, the latter are not investigated in
this study.

Table 1
3. Method
Descriptive information regarding thirteen local community energy initiatives in
the Netherlands.
3.1. Case study
No. Location Population Landscape Technology
In order to investigate local community energy initiatives in more
1 Balinge 110 Wooded Rural Biomass
depth we rely on a case study approach. According to Yin [72] case 2 Hooghalen 940 Wooded Rural Sun PV Efficiency
studies facilitate the search for conceptual patterns and categories, 3 Westerveld 19,176 Wooded Rural Sun PV Efficiency
which helps to understand a certain phenomenon. As defined by 4 Groningen 200,000 Urban Open Sun PV
Simons 2009: ‘case study is an in-depth exploration from multiple 5 Oldehove 1659 Rural Open SunPV Biomass Water
6 Pekela 13,449 Rural Open SunPV
perspectives of the complexity and uniqueness of a particular project,
7 Pieterburen 375 Rural Open SunPV Efficiency
policy, institution, program or system in a ‘real-life’ context’ (p. 21). 8 Schouwerzijl 100 Rural Open SunPV Efficiency
(cited by Thomas [48]) The choice of cases aims at the inclusion of a 9 Wessinghuizen 28 Rural Mixed Biomass
wide array of qualitative aspects, to be able to study as much relevant 10 Zuidhorn 6816 Rural Open SunPV SunThermal
patterns as possible. This process is called strategic selection and is 11 Franeker 1214 Urban Open Efficiency
12 Makkinga 1039 Rural Mixed SunPV Biomass SunThermal
introduced by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Strauss and Corbin (1998), 13 Oenkerk 1800 Rural Mixed Sun PV Efficiency
and Flyvbjerg (2001), among others [49–51]. The number of cases is

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 5

In the remainder of this article, we primarily focus on the model. We first discuss the attachments of the local initiative to
ambitions, activities and organisation of local energy initiatives. outside networks, and then investigate if the level of attachments
influences local achievements. Subsequently, we look at the
3.3. Framework for analysis degree of commitment of local actors to the project, and the
possible ways in which this affects local achievements. Table 2
In our analysis, we specifically look at two dimensions as gives an overview of the results of the analysis of the data for the
outlined in Law and Callon [38]: relations with outside networks thirteen local community energy initiatives in the Netherlands.
and commitment of members. The relations with outside net-
works are the channels through which multiple actors influence 4.1. First dimension, relations with outside networks
each other, thus co-producing the result of the undertaken project.
Therefore more and stronger attachments lead to more influence Our first dimension, relations to outside networks, is described in
on a successful outcome of the project. Secondly, the actors have to this section. Table 2 shows that with eleven initiatives (85%) there is a
be committed to the project to achieve the best results. This ties in relationship with the local or regional government (municipality,
with teamwork literature, which points to motivation of team province). Seven initiatives (54%) have a relation with other commu-
members as a decisive factor in achieving team goals. Thus, we nity groups (schools, village communities). With six initiatives (46%),
analyse how these two dimensions influence the effectiveness of we observe there is a direct relationship with the business community.
local energy initiatives [38]. With four initiatives (31%) there is a contact with a regional or national
As to relations with outside networks, we investigate local non-governmental organisation. This adds up to more than 100% as
energy initiatives as embedded and interlinked networks. The the initiatives have multiple relations.
local network consists of the energy initiative itself, as well as its Every actor in a network is in turn also part of other networks.
relations to other local organizations, such as schools, the munici- In the local initiatives we studied it was apparent that many
pality, sports, local economic actors (shops, restaurants, farms). members were engaged in diverse networks and brought in
The outside network consists of all existing organizations that knowledge and opportunities that their attachment to these other
could be related to the local initiative, such as regional intermedi- actors provided. One obvious attachment members have is to their
ary organizations, national networks, governmental agencies, and employer. Some examples of relevant job activities on regional or
incumbent companies. Hargreaves et al. and Parag et al. investi- national level of agents in our cases are the following:
gated intermediaries and the maintenance of networks for com-
" membership of municipal board (#13),
munity initiative in the UK [31,61]. The degree of attachments of
" provincial civil servant specializing in energy policy (#13),
local actors to this outside network, is expected to influence the
" director of energy advisory business (#2)
effectiveness of the initiative. To this extent, we investigate
" engineer with energy research institute (#3),
members' individual networks, relations to relevant regional and
" policy advisor with national gas institute (#4, #5), and
national support systems, relations to existing energy actors
" employee at regional support organisation with energy as main
(incumbents) and national policies.
As to commitments, we investigate the commitment of local focus (#2).
actors along three dimensions: organisation development, exis-
tence of a shared vision and level of activities. Following the We observe that people employed in the energy sector are
literature on team effectiveness, we expect a more successful voluntary engaging in local initiatives. We also find that in several
initiative when the internal processes are functioning in such instances group members have an energy related education.
ways that trust and sustainable leadership are guaranteed [45]. We A similar observation is reported by Schwencke et al. [62].
first looked at organisation development, which in our cases often Furthermore, we regularly find small locally based companies,
meant evolving from an ad hoc working group to a more formal active in the field of renewable and sustainable energy, that
organisation type. For a sustained participation in team activities participate in the local initiatives (cases #2, #5, #11).
several aspects are taken into account, such as the continuity of Other relevant competences that members contributed to the
membership, the number of active members and the amount of initiative were related to finance and communication.
time members can and will spare for common activities. Strength Organizations in the direct vicinity form a part of the network.
and clarity of vision is a second aspect of commitment. From the Members with an affiliation to local organizations can reach out to
literature (e.g. [45] and [61]) we derive the expectation that a small businesses, municipal government, local farmers, or the
strong shared vision, made concrete in practical steps, is an parents of schoolchildren to join the initiative and take part in
important factor in determining organizational success. Seyfang activities. In our cases there was considerable involvement from
et al. also mentions the importance of a shared group vision, group local businesses (cases #2, #4, #5, #7, #12, #13), farmers (cases #5,
structures, as well as commitment of individuals [61]. The third #12), hotels or camping sites (case #2), and schools (cases #1, #2).
aspect of organizations that we focus on is the level of activities, Regional environmental organizations as well as provincial
which we identified in interviews, communications and websites. village organizations are increasingly active in organizing meet-
The level of activities is interpreted as an indicator for a high ings for local initiatives to meet each other, to share experiences
commitment of members. and to obtain information and advice. These meetings attract a lot
Summarizing, the resulting conceptual model based on Law and of attendees from local initiatives. All initiatives in our sample
Callon [38] holds that local energy initiatives can be situated along regularly take part in this kind of regional activities.
two dimensions: attachments to outside networks and commitment On a national level organizations for lobbying and networking have
of members. On the basis of this conceptual model we have analysed been set up in the Netherlands. These have been initiated by
our cases. The results are provided in the next section. environmental organizations, by provincial village organizations and
by the energy initiatives themselves. This means there are now three
national networks of local energy initiatives: HierOpgewekt, Netwerk
4. Results Duurzame Dorpen, E-decentraal. Their activities range from organizing
meetings to lobbying national policy. E-decentraal played an active role
In this section we present and discuss the findings of the in the negotiations for the national energy covenant (Energieakkoord),
thirteen case studies, developed along the lines of our conceptual so the influence of local initiatives on national policy is growing [63].

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
6 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Table 2
Overview of the results of the case studies.

# Dimension 1 Dimension 2

Global and local network 1. Organisation development 2. Shared vision 3. Level of activities
links

1 – Collaboration with Small informal village initiative with local Individual systems with biomass – Collective (monthly) harvesting in
nature agency leaders. heaters and sun thermal installation. nearby wood
– Municipality – Energy education in schools
– Schools in nearby
villages

2 – Village hall, Formal foundation with a board and five Energy neutral village in 2020 – Energy fair
– Municipality, workgroups. – Survey
– Local School – Website
– Regional welfare – Social media
organization – Courses SunPV and energy efficiency for
– Regional environment home owners
organisation – Participation in technical research projects
– Energy engineering
(through invididual
members)

3 – CE-engineering bureau A local political party, Progressief Adopted fund and action plan on – Communication
(through individual Westerveld, drives the initiative in the community energy actions – Advisory role to municipality
members) municipality of Westerveld. – Policy documents
– Website

4 – Cooperation with Co-operation ‘Grunneger Power’ formed in Renewable energy and local – PV projects
initiatives Fryslan and april 2011. economy – PV advice
Drenthe – local initiatives can attach themselves – Establish green energy provider
– Municipality to GP, as a local branch.
– National links with
e-decentraal
– Energy incumbents
(Shell, Gasunie) through
individual members

5 – Gasunie (through – Board with regional experts. Supply energy in the whole of – Funding from the Province of Groningen to set
individual members) Middag-Humsterland and wider up an organization
– Groningen (province) region.

6 – Municipality Formal foundationwith board CO2-or energyneutral village – PV-project

– province Groningen – Information meeting
– GReK (Groningen Energy – Facebook page
Umbrella Organisation) – Press
– Survey

7 – Participating in Formed out of a protest group ‘Pieterburen Renewable energy-village – Information meetings
Duurzaam Pieterburen, Tegengas’.-local leadership Against underground storage of CO2
– Dorpshuis Pieterburen
– Municipality

8 – Regional networks Informal working group under aegis of Promote individual actions to reduce – Series of meetings about home insulation, solar
through individual Village organization (Dorpsbelangen) CO2-emissions panels and other new options to save energy
members and produce your own.

9 – Funding organisation Successful small-scale initiative plans to Renewable energy – Promotion of pellet stoves
(Heidemij) through supply houses with from the direct Social cohesion – Installation of PV
individual members environment.
– Nature organisation

10 – Municipality Municipal working group Not yet determined In preparation

11 – Municipality Small local working group, with Strengthen inner city by advising – Information meeting,
representation of local stakeholders owners of historic buildings on
energy improvements
12 – Municipality SLIM- subsidized project for three years. Sustainable village: economic, – Building solar thermal installations,
– Local private sector energy, agriculture, food production, – Promoting solar panels,
– School – Village kitchen garden.
– Village organisation – Plan to incorporate energy from biomass plant
on farm outside village.

13 – Municipality Village initiative started in 2011, informal Mission to become energy neutral – Plans include collective purchase of
– Province working group co-operation sustainable in 2050. solar panels
energy – Promoting energy efficiency
 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 7

Table 3
Taxonomy of the ways of organizing local community energy initiatives (from less formal to more formal).

Organisation type Cases

Working group with the specific purpose to promote community energy #1, #11, #12
Working group attached to other groups already operating at the local community level #7, #8
Working group attached to political party #3, #10
Foundation with the specific purpose to promote community energy #2, #6
Cooperative to produce and distribute local energy at the community level #4, #13
Commercial venture #5

Case numbers refer to table 2.

4.2. Second dimension, degree of commitment of local actors

In this subsection we focus on our second dimension, degree of

commitment of local actors to the project. We subsequently
discuss the results on organisation development, shared vision
and level of activities.

4.2.1. Aspect 1: organisation development

Teambuilding literature [45,64,65] shows that organizations are
more successful if trust and sustainable leadership are guaranteed.
Seyfang et al. show that community energy groups in general have
considerable trouble to survive. Furthermore, their findings suggest
that the development of more formal organisation structures could
be conditional to achieve group objectives [61].
Table 2 shows that most initiatives are relatively small and
informal (5, i.e. 39%). Table 3 gives an overview of different types
of commonly used organization structures and how the thirteen
cases can be mapped along these types.
Community initiatives are dynamic. For example, one of the
initiatives (#2) grew in size from 5 to 25 active members in one
year. Typically, they initiatives with highly committed members,
stimulating leadership and multiple activities go through a for-
Fig. 1. Conceptual framework for the analysis of local community energy initiatives.
malisation process after a period of six months to two years Fig. 1.
The initiators in the majority of cases started with an informal
working group in close cooperation with the local village organisa-
tion (for a review of social entrepreneurship in relation to social This gender aspect needs more attention, which at present is
networks, see [66]). In some instances, for example in case #3, the outside the scope of our research.
organizational route was via a local political party.
Others set up a foundation, i.e. a more formal organisation, to
advance its goal of promoting renewable energy (#(#2, #6)). 4.2.2. Aspect 2: shared vision
A co-operative is a type of organisation in which members A strong shared vision, made concrete in practical steps, is
can collectively own an energy company, however the financial supposed to strengthen the commitment of members to the
risks and legal difficulties in setting up such a collective business organisation, as outlined in teamwork literature [45], as well as
proved a formidable barrier for many of the small initiatives Seyfang et al. [33]. Table 2 shows that in eleven cases (85%)
in our study. The co-operations that were formed often chose to renewable energy is a shared vision. On top of this, we observe
align themselves to a larger energy company with a strong that with six initiatives (46%) community objectives are part of the
inclination for sustainability, such as Greenchoice or Trianel. vision as well. Sustainability explicitly plays a role in three
Recently, new regional umbrella energy co-operatives have now initiatives (23%). One initiative has primarily a commercial objec-
been formed. They provide local initiatives with the opportunity to tive. And with one initiative, there also is a protest involved
join a strong regional cooperation, while preserving their local against the underground storage of carbondioxide. Hence, most
autonomy as well as receiving any profits from customers in their initiatives are of a ‘please in my backyard’ nature.
constituency. In our sample, the visions developed by the local initiatives
In our sample we find only one initiative that established itself differ in scope and ambition. On the one hand, the modest
as a commercial venture. However, Walker et al. [15] points to lack ambition could be to stimulate energy efficiency measures and
of trust when commercial interests prevail. installation of solar PV panels in the village (#7, #8). After
In addition, we find that local leadership is very important in organizing several meetings in the Village Hall about the technical
the choice of organisation type, also consistent with the findings of and financial aspects of solar PV, often resulting in a surge of
Schwencke et al. [62]. The original initiators in our cases largely installations in the village, the ambition was considered to be
determined the organizational structure of the initiative. fulfilled and the group was disbanded. At the other end of the
An additional observation regards the gender aspect of the spectrum, one local initiative (#2) has the ambition to become an
energy initiatives. In our sample, with 10 initiatives (77%) the energy neutral village in 2020, meaning that the village produces
initiator was male. In four cases (31%) the whole group consisted as much energy as it consumes on a yearly basis. A tentative
of men, while the other initiatives were more gender balanced. scenario of how to reach this ambition was developed.

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
8 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

In the field of energy transition technical appliances and energy 4.3. Reflections
infrastructures are often an important component of the vision.
In theory, there are many technological options to decentralize Regarding the dimension ‘level of attachments to outside net-
energy production. However, in (Dutch) practice, the actual choice works’ our findings suggest that attachments to local, regional and
is severely limited by policy constraints. For example regional national networks are continually developed and updated. These
energy policy in the North of the Netherlands does not allow local attachments also include informal ties, such as through the
windmills [67,68]. This means that local energy coops do not have occupation of members in the energy and/or governmental sector.
the opportunity to invest in a cooperative village windmill. The community energy field is very dynamic, as is also reported by
Another example concerns biomass installations, which are Hargreaves et al. [31,32]. They conclude there is as yet no
restricted to farmers, so again this technology is not within reach ‘coherent, robust and strategic community energy niche’, while
of most local initiatives. This leaves the local groups with primarily questioning if such a niche would be a desirable goal.
individual installations, e.g. combined heat and power installa- With regard to the second dimension, ‘commitment of mem-
tions and solar panels, as the most promising feasible (‘legal’) bers’ our findings give insights in grassroots organisation struc-
technologies. The recent fall in prices for solar PV has helped to tures. A transformation from loosely connected individuals in an
bring ‘prosumerism’ within reach. Small-scale use of biomass (e.g. informal working group to a formal organisation such as a co-op is
by using wood pellets and woodchips) is another possibility on the observable in multiple cases in our sample. Seyfang et al. [61] also
individual level. Visions of the initiatives in our sample reflect this report this finding in their UK-wide survey.
limited array of possibilities. Solar PV, insulation, and similar A shared vision, put forward as an important condition for
household scale measures are paramount in these visions, team-success, appears to have a binding role in these initiatives.
whereas plans for cooperative energy production with local The connection of organisation development and shared vision
facilities on a village scale rarely appear. should be further researched. While in grassroots initiatives the
Not only prices of the appliances matter, also facilities to share vision is often not very detailed, in municipal energy plans the
or feedback excess energy play a role in inhibiting or stimulating description of goals is often elaborated in more detail.
the choice for a certain technology. In the Netherlands, fiscal A high level of activities is interpreted here as a sign of the
arrangements generally do not favour small-scale energy produc- commitment of members to the local initiative and its goals. We
tion [69]. Therefore, installations in and on private houses, saw a sharp rise of activities in the Netherlands in general, as well
combined with energy efficiency measures, turned out to be the as in our cases. However, due to time-constraints and other
most popular option for local initiatives. Recently, the Dutch competing issues, it is a challenge for citizens initiatives to
Energy Covenant facilitates small tax deductions for community continue on this high level [8].
energy projects.

5. Conclusion

4.2.3. Aspect 3: level of activities In the Netherlands, we observe an active and growing number
Table 2 (last column) shows the initiatives display a wide of local community energy initiatives. They increasingly cooperate
spectrum of activities. With eight initiatives (62%), we witness on a regional and national level. New modes of organisation are
education and information activities, such as energy markets, developed to realize local vision and ambition. In this study, we
information meetings, house-to-house surveys. Other activities focus on the social aspects of these initiatives and leave the
range from harvesting biomass to organizing a fair, advising the technological issues aside.
municipality, trying to get funding, and demonstration projects. Our key question ‘How can local community energy initiatives
Also social media, including websites, twitter accounts and Face- contribute to a decentralized sustainable energy system’ guided us
book pages, are used by the initiatives. in investigating local level dynamics. On the basis of a case study
When looking at the Netherlands in general, we observe that among thirteen local community initiatives in the northern
the level of activities with local energy as a topic has grown provinces of the Netherlands in the period 2010–2013, we detect
enormously since 2010. A search in LexisNexis on Dutch words there is a wide variety of forms in which local community energy
(e.g., lokale energie coöperatie, lokale energie informatie avond) initiatives have organized themselves, ranging from very informal
delivered 300 news articles, after removing double and irrelevant to quite formal. We provide the first application of Actor-Network
clippings. The first information meetings mentioned in the news- Theory regarding how such initiatives relate to more overarching
papers took place in 2010, the amount of meetings grew in 2012 networks. We also provide the first account of local community
and 2013, and in 2014 it is possible to visit a local meeting on energy initiatives in the Netherlands, a country that ranks very
energy issues almost every week. The agenda of these meetings low within Europe regarding the role of renewable energy pro-
usually includes discussions regarding the installation of solar duction. The main limitation of this study is that the type of local
panels, collective wind energy, energy efficiency measures, and community initiatives studied is relatively young. As a result a
the launch of a local energy cooperative. Earlier clippings more database with validated key characteristics and performance
often mention involvement of the municipality. Against this back- measures is missing and we cannot complement our qualitative
ground we were present as observer at several such information analysis with a quantitative assessment.
meetings of the initiatives in our sample. Turnout for these We find that the creation of a committed local organization,
meetings is relatively high; we witnessed numbers of attendees with a shared vision and concrete goals is at the start of the change
ranging from 35 to 65, in villages of less than 500 inhabitants. process. Many local initiatives went through a formalization
Internet is an important communication tool for local organi- process, which in turn strengthened the organization. Further-
zations. The majority of the local groups in our sample created a more, the level of activities, including communication efforts, is an
website, and/or a Facebook page, and often use other social media, important indicator of local team effectiveness. To be successful,
such as Twitter. This is also the case for the initiatives mentioned local organizations need to entertain strong and continuous
in the newspaper articles, as far as could be retrieved. However, a relations both on the local as well as on the global level. Increas-
full investigation of the impact of social media in local energy ingly regional and national organizations are formed that connect
initiatives lies outside the scope of this paper. and represent the local initiatives. We find that local community

Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 9

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sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
10 T. van der Schoor, B. Scholtens / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

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Please cite this article as: van der Schoor T, Scholtens B. Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to
sustainable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.089i
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