IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v147y2020ics0301421520305905.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community renewable energy in France: The state of development and the way forward

Author

Listed:
  • Sebi, Carine
  • Vernay, Anne-Lorène

Abstract

Citizens can take an active part in the energy transition by participating in community renewable energy projects (CREPs). CREPs are emerging in France but their growth is simultaneously rapid and fragile. This paper describes the ongoing CRE movement in France based on an in-depth analysis at both the national and regional levels. To embrace the diversity of initiatives that exist, the paper proposes a typology of CREPs based on governance type and project size. We discuss the institutional, market, organisational and behavioural barriers that CREPs face. We also posit three enabling factors—financial, network and local capacity builders—and show that these factors contribute to explaining observed geographical disparities. We argue that policymakers should recognize the plural role that CREPs can play locally and develop support schemes that reflect this plurality instead of pushing for ever-bigger projects. Finally, because CREPs are not able to meet the growing demand for locally sourced renewable energy, we posit that regulations should evolve to offer CREP participants the opportunity to consume CRE-generated energy and to directly link that consumption to their own energy bills.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebi, Carine & Vernay, Anne-Lorène, 2020. "Community renewable energy in France: The state of development and the way forward," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520305905
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111874
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421520305905
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111874?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boon, Frank Pieter & Dieperink, Carel, 2014. "Local civil society based renewable energy organisations in the Netherlands: Exploring the factors that stimulate their emergence and development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 297-307.
    2. Anne-Lorene Vernay & Carine Sebi, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-02987790, HAL.
    3. Capellán-Pérez, Iñigo & Campos-Celador, Álvaro & Terés-Zubiaga, Jon, 2018. "Renewable Energy Cooperatives as an instrument towards the energy transition in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 215-229.
    4. Holstenkamp, Lars & Kahla, Franziska, 2016. "What are community energy companies trying to accomplish? An empirical investigation of investment motives in the German case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 112-122.
    5. Herbes, Carsten & Brummer, Vasco & Rognli, Judith & Blazejewski, Susanne & Gericke, Naomi, 2017. "Responding to policy change: New business models for renewable energy cooperatives – Barriers perceived by cooperatives’ members," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 82-95.
    6. Anne-Lorene Vernay & Carine Sebi, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Post-Print hal-02987790, HAL.
    7. Lakshmi, Geeta & Tilley, Simon, 2019. "The “power” of community renewable energy enterprises: The case of Sustainable Hockerton Ltd," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 787-795.
    8. Nolden, Colin, 2013. "Governing community energy—Feed-in tariffs and the development of community wind energy schemes in the United Kingdom and Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 543-552.
    9. Viardot, Eric, 2013. "The role of cooperatives in overcoming the barriers to adoption of renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 756-764.
    10. Varho, Vilja & Rikkonen, Pasi & Rasi, Saija, 2016. "Futures of distributed small-scale renewable energy in Finland — A Delphi study of the opportunities and obstacles up to 2025," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 30-37.
    11. Azarova, Valeriya & Cohen, Jed & Friedl, Christina & Reichl, Johannes, 2019. "Designing local renewable energy communities to increase social acceptance: Evidence from a choice experiment in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1176-1183.
    12. Séverine Saintier, 2017. "Community Energy Companies in the UK: A Potential Model for Sustainable Development in “Local” Energy?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, July.
    13. Bomberg, Elizabeth & McEwen, Nicola, 2012. "Mobilizing community energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 435-444.
    14. Yildiz, Özgür, 2014. "Financing renewable energy infrastructures via financial citizen participation – The case of Germany," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 677-685.
    15. Seyfang, Gill & Park, Jung Jin & Smith, Adrian, 2013. "A thousand flowers blooming? An examination of community energy in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 977-989.
    16. Mahzouni, Arian, 2019. "The role of institutional entrepreneurship in emerging energy communities: The town of St. Peter in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 297-308.
    17. Poupeau, F.-M., 2020. "Everything must change in order to stay as it is. The impossible decentralization of the electricity sector in France," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    18. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Sebi, Carine, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems: A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    19. Forman, Alister, 2017. "Energy justice at the end of the wire: Enacting community energy and equity in Wales," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 649-657.
    20. Weber, Lukas, 1997. "Some reflections on barriers to the efficient use of energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(10), pages 833-835, August.
    21. Rogers, J.C. & Simmons, E.A. & Convery, I. & Weatherall, A., 2008. "Public perceptions of opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4217-4226, November.
    22. Kerstin Tews, 2018. "The Crash of a Policy Pilot to Legally Define Community Energy. Evidence from the German Auction Scheme," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-12, September.
    23. Berka, Anna L. & Creamer, Emily, 2018. "Taking stock of the local impacts of community owned renewable energy: A review and research agenda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3400-3419.
    24. Yalçın-Riollet, Melike & Garabuau-Moussaoui, Isabelle & Szuba, Mathilde, 2014. "Energy autonomy in Le Mené: A French case of grassroots innovation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 347-355.
    25. Breukers, Sylvia & Wolsink, Maarten, 2007. "Wind power implementation in changing institutional landscapes: An international comparison," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2737-2750, May.
    26. Lehtonen, Olli & Okkonen, Lasse, 2019. "Energy cost reduction creates additional socioeconomic benefits– The case of Eno Energy Cooperative, Finland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 352-359.
    27. Bauwens, Thomas, 2019. "Analyzing the determinants of the size of investments by community renewable energy members: Findings and policy implications from Flanders," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 841-852.
    28. Proudlove, Richard & Finch, Sue & Thomas, Sebastian, 2020. "Factors influencing intention to invest in a community owned renewable energy initiative in Queensland, Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    29. Mirzania, Pegah & Ford, Andy & Andrews, Deborah & Ofori, George & Maidment, Graeme, 2019. "The impact of policy changes: The opportunities of Community Renewable Energy projects in the UK and the barriers they face," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1282-1296.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stanisław Jaworski & Mariola Chrzanowska & Monika Zielińska-Sitkiewicz & Robert Pietrzykowski & Aleksandra Jezierska-Thöle & Piotr Zielonka, 2023. "Evaluating the Progress of Renewable Energy Sources in Poland: A Multidimensional Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Di Silvestre, Maria Luisa & Ippolito, Mariano Giuseppe & Sanseverino, Eleonora Riva & Sciumè, Giuseppe & Vasile, Antony, 2021. "Energy self-consumers and renewable energy communities in Italy: New actors of the electric power systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Wang, Jianjun & Liu, Fang & Li, Li & Zhang, Jian, 2022. "More than innovativeness: Comparing residents’ motivations for participating renewable energy communities in different innovation segments," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 552-563.
    4. Ma, Cong & Cheok, Mui Yee & Chok, Nyen Vui, 2023. "Economic recovery through multisector management resources in small and medium businesses in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Herenčić, Lin & Kirac, Mislav & Keko, Hrvoje & Kuzle, Igor & Rajšl, Ivan, 2022. "Automated energy sharing in MV and LV distribution grids within an energy community: A case for Croatian city of Križevci with a hybrid renewable system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 176-194.
    6. Ma, Cong & Cheok, Mui Yee, 2022. "The impact of financing role and organizational culture in small and medium enterprises: Developing business strategies for economic recovery," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-38.
    7. Wainer, A. & Petrovics, D. & van der Grijp, N., 2022. "The grid access of energy communities a comparison of power grid governance in France and Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    8. Michael Krug & Maria Rosaria Di Nucci & Matteo Caldera & Elena De Luca, 2022. "Mainstreaming Community Energy: Is the Renewable Energy Directive a Driver for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Italy?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    9. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Sebi, Carine & Arroyo, Fabrice, 2023. "Energy community business models and their impact on the energy transition: Lessons learnt from France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    10. Carla Cristiane Sokulski & Murillo Vetroni Barros & Rodrigo Salvador & Evandro Eduardo Broday & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2022. "Trends in Renewable Electricity Generation in the G20 Countries: An Analysis of the 1990–2020 Period," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    11. Maksym Koltunov & Simon Pezzutto & Adriano Bisello & Georg Lettner & Albert Hiesl & Wilfried van Sark & Atse Louwen & Eric Wilczynski, 2023. "Mapping of Energy Communities in Europe: Status Quo and Review of Existing Classifications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    12. Petrovich, Beatrice & Kubli, Merla, 2023. "Energy communities for companies: Executives’ preferences for local and renewable energy procurement," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    13. Roberta Roberto & Gabriella Ferruzzi & Viviana Negro & Michel Noussan, 2023. "Mapping of Energy Community Development in Europe: State of the Art and Research Directions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-29, September.
    14. Maria Alessandra Ancona & Francesco Baldi & Lisa Branchini & Andrea De Pascale & Federico Gianaroli & Francesco Melino & Mattia Ricci, 2022. "Comparative Analysis of Renewable Energy Community Designs for District Heating Networks: Case Study of Corticella (Italy)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    15. Badr Eddine Lebrouhi & Eric Schall & Bilal Lamrani & Yassine Chaibi & Tarik Kousksou, 2022. "Energy Transition in France," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    16. Cui, Kai & Li, Xinxue & Li, Gang, 2023. "What kind of fiscal policies and natural resources efficiency promotes green economic growth? Evidence from regression analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    17. Badr Eddine Lebrouhi & Éric Schall & Bilal Lamrani & Yassine Chaibi & Tarik Kousksou, 2022. "Energy Transition in France," Post-Print hal-03716839, HAL.
    18. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Olsthoorn, Mark & Sebi, Carine & Gauthier, Caroline, 2023. "The identity trap of community renewable energy in France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    19. Lode, M.L. & te Boveldt, G. & Coosemans, T. & Ramirez Camargo, L., 2022. "A transition perspective on Energy Communities: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    20. Kahouli, Sondès & Okushima, Shinichiro, 2021. "Regional energy poverty reevaluated: A direct measurement approach applied to France and Japan," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    21. Anna Grignani & Michela Gozzellino & Alessandro Sciullo & Dario Padovan, 2021. "Community Cooperative: A New Legal Form for Enhancing Social Capital for the Development of Renewable Energy Communities in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Sebi, Carine, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems: A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Olsthoorn, Mark & Sebi, Carine & Gauthier, Caroline, 2023. "The identity trap of community renewable energy in France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Conradie, Peter D. & De Ruyck, Olivia & Saldien, Jelle & Ponnet, Koen, 2021. "Who wants to join a renewable energy community in Flanders? Applying an extended model of Theory of Planned Behaviour to understand intent to participate," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Busch, Henner & Ruggiero, Salvatore & Isakovic, Aljosa & Hansen, Teis, 2021. "Policy challenges to community energy in the EU: A systematic review of the scientific literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Bauwens, Thomas & Schraven, Daan & Drewing, Emily & Radtke, Jörg & Holstenkamp, Lars & Gotchev, Boris & Yildiz, Özgür, 2022. "Conceptualizing community in energy systems: A systematic review of 183 definitions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Haji Bashi, Mazaher & De Tommasi, Luciano & Le Cam, Andreea & Relaño, Lorena Sánchez & Lyons, Padraig & Mundó, Joana & Pandelieva-Dimova, Ivanka & Schapp, Henrik & Loth-Babut, Karolina & Egger, Christ, 2023. "A review and mapping exercise of energy community regulatory challenges in European member states based on a survey of collective energy actors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Brummer, Vasco, 2018. "Community energy – benefits and barriers: A comparative literature review of Community Energy in the UK, Germany and the USA, the benefits it provides for society and the barriers it faces," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 187-196.
    8. Chiara Candelise & Gianluca Ruggieri, 2017. "Community Energy in Italy: Heterogeneous institutional characteristics and citizens engagement," IEFE Working Papers 93, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    9. Grashof, Katherina, 2019. "Are auctions likely to deter community wind projects? And would this be problematic?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 20-32.
    10. Vernay, Anne-Lorène & Sebi, Carine & Arroyo, Fabrice, 2023. "Energy community business models and their impact on the energy transition: Lessons learnt from France," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    11. Anne-Lorene Vernay & Carine Sebi, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Post-Print hal-02987790, HAL.
    12. Anne-Lorene Vernay & Carine Sebi, 2020. "Energy communities and their ecosystems A comparison of France and the Netherlands," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-02987790, HAL.
    13. Bauwens, Thomas, 2019. "Analyzing the determinants of the size of investments by community renewable energy members: Findings and policy implications from Flanders," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 841-852.
    14. Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu & Siyami Alp Limoncuoglu & Muhittin Hakan Demir & Johannes Reichl & Katrin Burgstaller & Alessandro Sciullo & Edoardo Ferrero, 2021. "Legal Provisions and Market Conditions for Energy Communities in Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey: A Comparative Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-25, October.
    15. Moritz Ehrtmann & Lars Holstenkamp & Timon Becker, 2021. "Regional Electricity Models for Community Energy in Germany: The Role of Governance Structures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-24, February.
    16. Chiara Candelise & Gianluca Ruggieri, 2020. "Status and Evolution of the Community Energy Sector in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, April.
    17. Romero-Castro, Noelia & Piñeiro-Chousa, Juan & Pérez-Pico, Ada, 2021. "Dealing with heterogeneity and complexity in the analysis of the willingness to invest in community renewable energy in rural areas," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    18. Fuentes González, Fabián & van der Weijde, Adriaan Hendrik & Sauma, Enzo, 2020. "The promotion of community energy projects in Chile and Scotland: An economic approach using biform games," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Beau Warbroek & Thomas Hoppe & Frans Coenen & Hans Bressers, 2018. "The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-28, July.
    20. Wainer, A. & Petrovics, D. & van der Grijp, N., 2022. "The grid access of energy communities a comparison of power grid governance in France and Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520305905. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.