IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i12p7181-d836885.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mainstreaming Community Energy: Is the Renewable Energy Directive a Driver for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Italy?

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Krug

    (Research Center for Sustainability, Freie Universität Berlin, Ihnestrasse 22, D-14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Maria Rosaria Di Nucci

    (Research Center for Sustainability, Freie Universität Berlin, Ihnestrasse 22, D-14195 Berlin, Germany)

  • Matteo Caldera

    (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy)

  • Elena De Luca

    (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

By 30 June 2021, EU Member States were expected to transpose the recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) which includes provisions for renewable energy communities (RECs) and to develop an enabling framework to promote the development of RECs. Although there is a growing number of studies analysing the emergence of various forms of community energy, comparative studies investigating the transposition and creation of enabling frameworks for RECs in a multi-level governance (MLG) perspective are scarce. This article examines the transposition in Germany and Italy and compares elements of the respective enabling frameworks. Key methods include context and MLG analysis combined with methods of descriptive (legal) studies. Insights and participatory observations of the stakeholder desks established in the Horizon2020 project COME RES complement the spectrum of methods deployed. Although community energy development is more advanced in Germany, the transposition of the RED II provisions has been slow and piecemeal so far. Conversely, in Italy, RED II played a catalyst role; the transposition has been rather dynamic and encouraged a continuous growth of REC initiatives. Nevertheless, a widespread uptake of RECs requires structural adjustments of the governance system in both countries and attention to MLG as well as vertical policy coordination.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7181-:d:836885
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7181/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7181/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jenny Palm, 2021. "The Transposition of Energy Communities into Swedish Regulations: Overview and Critique of Emerging Regulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-15, August.
    2. 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.
    3. Walker, Gordon & Devine-Wright, Patrick, 2008. "Community renewable energy: What should it mean," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 497-500, February.
    4. Kahla, Franziska & Holstenkamp, Lars & Müller, Jakob R. & Degenhart, Heinrich, 2017. "Entwicklung und Stand von Bürgerenergiegesellschaften und Energiegenossenschaften in Deutschland [Development and State of Community Energy Companies and Energy Cooperatives in Germany]," MPRA Paper 81261, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Bernadette Fina & Hubert Fechner, 2021. "Transposition of European Guidelines for Energy Communities into Austrian Law: A Comparison and Discussion of Issues and Positive Aspects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-14, June.
    6. 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.
    7. Beau Warbroek & Thomas Hoppe, 2017. "Modes of Governing and Policy of Local and Regional Governments Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives; Exploring the Cases of the Dutch Regions of Overijssel and Fryslân," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-36, January.
    8. Bernadette Fina & Hans Auer, 2020. "Economic Viability of Renewable Energy Communities under the Framework of the Renewable Energy Directive Transposed to Austrian Law," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, November.
    9. Elena De Luca & Cecilia Nardi & Laura Gaetana Giuffrida & Michael Krug & Maria Rosaria Di Nucci, 2020. "Explaining Factors Leading to Community Acceptance of Wind Energy. Results of an Expert Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-23, April.
    10. Rogge, Karoline S. & Reichardt, Kristin, 2016. "Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: An extended concept and framework for analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1620-1635.
    11. Liesbet, Hooghe & Gary, Marks, 2003. "Unraveling the Central State, but How? Types of Multi-level Governance," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(2), pages 233-243, May.
    12. Foxon, Timothy J., 2011. "A coevolutionary framework for analysing a transition to a sustainable low carbon economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2258-2267.
    13. 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.
    14. Knoefel, Jan & Sagebiel, Julian & Yildiz, Özgür & Müller, Jakob R. & Rommel, Jens, 2018. "A consumer perspective on corporate governance in the energy transition: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 440-448.
    15. August Wierling & Jan Pedro Zeiss & Veronica Lupi & Chiara Candelise & Alessandro Sciullo & Valeria Jana Schwanitz, 2021. "The Contribution of Energy Communities to the Upscaling of Photovoltaics in Germany and Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-16, April.
    16. Koirala, Binod Prasad & van Oost, Ellen & van der Windt, Henny, 2018. "Community energy storage: A responsible innovation towards a sustainable energy system?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 570-585.
    17. Inês, Campos & Guilherme, Pontes Luz & Esther, Marín-González & Swantje, Gährs & Stephen, Hall & Lars, Holstenkamp, 2020. "Regulatory challenges and opportunities for collective renewable energy prosumers in the EU," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. MAREK HUDON & BENJAMIN HUYBRECHTS & Thomas BAUWENS & Jacques DEFOURNY, 2017. "Social Capital And Mutual Versus Public Benefit: The Case Of Renewable Energy Cooperatives," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 88(2), pages 203-232, June.
    21. Debor, Sarah, 2014. "The socio-economic power of renewable energy production cooperatives in Germany: Results of an empirical assessment," Wuppertal Papers 187, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
    22. Chiara Candelise & Gianluca Ruggieri, 2020. "Status and Evolution of the Community Energy Sector in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, April.
    23. Thomas Hoppe & Antonia Graf & Beau Warbroek & Imke Lammers & Isabella Lepping, 2015. "Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-32, February.
    24. 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).
    25. 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).
    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. Florian Ahlmeyer & Kati Volgmann, 2023. "What Can We Expect for the Development of Rural Areas in Europe?—Trends of the Last Decade and Their Opportunities for Rural Regeneration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Elena Tarpani & Cristina Piselli & Claudia Fabiani & Ilaria Pigliautile & Eelke J. Kingma & Benedetta Pioppi & Anna Laura Pisello, 2022. "Energy Communities Implementation in the European Union: Case Studies from Pioneer and Laggard Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Alyssa Diva Mustika & Rémy Rigo-Mariani & Vincent Debusschere & Amaury Pachurka, 2022. "New Members Selection for the Expansion of Energy Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-15, September.
    4. Romain Mannini & Julien Eynard & Stéphane Grieu, 2022. "A Survey of Recent Advances in the Smart Management of Microgrids and Networked Microgrids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-37, September.
    5. 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.
    6. Michael Krug & Maria Rosaria Di Nucci & Lucas Schwarz & Irene Alonso & Isabel Azevedo & Massimo Bastiani & Anna Dyląg & Erik Laes & Arthur Hinsch & Gaidis Klāvs & Ivars Kudreņickis & Pouyan Maleki & G, 2023. "Implementing European Union Provisions and Enabling Frameworks for Renewable Energy Communities in Nine Countries: Progress, Delays, and Gaps," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-29, May.
    7. Giuseppe Edoardo Dino & Pietro Catrini & Valeria Palomba & Andrea Frazzica & Antonio Piacentino, 2023. "Promoting the Flexibility of Thermal Prosumers Equipped with Heat Pumps to Support Power Grid Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Naimeh Mohammadi, 2023. "Investigation of Community Energy Business Models from an Institutional Perspective: Intermediaries and Policy Instruments in Selected Cases of Developing and Developed Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-24, May.
    9. Maria Rosaria Di Nucci & Michael Krug & Lucas Schwarz & Vincenzo Gatta & Erik Laes, 2023. "Learning from Other Community Renewable Energy Projects: Transnational Transfer of Multi-Functional Energy Gardens from the Netherlands to Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-24, April.
    10. Man Zhou & Uliana Pysmenna & Oleksandra Kubatko & Volodymyr Voloshchuk & Iryna Sotnyk & Galyna Trypolska, 2023. "Support for Household Prosumers in the Early Stages of Power Market Decentralization in Ukraine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-15, September.
    11. Elisa Moretti & Ettore Stamponi, 2023. "The Renewable Energy Communities in Italy and the Role of Public Administrations: The Experience of the Municipality of Assisi between Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, August.
    12. Anita Tatti & Sibilla Ferroni & Martina Ferrando & Mario Motta & Francesco Causone, 2023. "The Emerging Trends of Renewable Energy Communities’ Development in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Lowitzsch, Jens & Kreutzer, Kaja & George, Jan & Croonenbroeck, Carsten & Breitschopf, Barbara, 2023. "Development prospects for energy communities in the EU identifying best practice and future opportunities using a morphological approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    14. Stefania Lucantonio & Andrea Di Giuliano & Leucio Rossi & Katia Gallucci, 2023. "Green Diesel Production via Deoxygenation Process: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-44, January.
    15. Maurizio Sibilla & Esra Kurul, 2023. "Towards Social Understanding of Energy Storage Systems—A Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-11, September.

    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. 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).
    2. 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).
    3. Martens, Katrin, 2022. "Investigating subnational success conditions to foster renewable energy community co-operatives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    4. Mirosław Struś & Daria Kostecka-Jurczyk & Katarzyna Marak, 2023. "The Role of Local Government in the Bottom-Up Energy Transformation of Poland on the Example of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Michael Krug & Maria Rosaria Di Nucci & Lucas Schwarz & Irene Alonso & Isabel Azevedo & Massimo Bastiani & Anna Dyląg & Erik Laes & Arthur Hinsch & Gaidis Klāvs & Ivars Kudreņickis & Pouyan Maleki & G, 2023. "Implementing European Union Provisions and Enabling Frameworks for Renewable Energy Communities in Nine Countries: Progress, Delays, and Gaps," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-29, May.
    6. Jenny Palm, 2021. "The Transposition of Energy Communities into Swedish Regulations: Overview and Critique of Emerging Regulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-15, August.
    7. 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).
    8. 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).
    9. Gianfranco Di Lorenzo & Erika Stracqualursi & Leonardo Micheli & Luigi Martirano & Rodolfo Araneo, 2022. "Challenges in Energy Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-5, October.
    10. 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.
    11. Julia Maria Wittmayer & Tessa de Geus & Bonno Pel & F. Avelino & Sabine Hielscher & Thomas Hoppe & Marie Susan Mühlemeier & Agata Stasik & Sem Oxenaar & Karoline K.S. Rogge & Vivian Visser & Esther Ma, 2020. "Beyond instrumentalism: Broadening the understanding of social innovation in socio-technical energy systems," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/312323, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    12. Nuñez-Jimenez, Alejandro & Mehta, Prakhar & Griego, Danielle, 2023. "Let it grow: How community solar policy can increase PV adoption in cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    13. Batz Liñeiro, Taimyra & Müsgens, Felix, 2023. "Evaluating the German onshore wind auction programme: An analysis based on individual bids," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    14. Dorian Frieden & Andreas Tuerk & Ana Rita Antunes & Vasilakis Athanasios & Alexandros-Georgios Chronis & Stanislas d’Herbemont & Mislav Kirac & Rita Marouço & Camilla Neumann & Esteban Pastor Catalayu, 2021. "Are We on the Right Track? Collective Self-Consumption and Energy Communities in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-26, November.
    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. 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).
    17. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Baležentis & Artiom Volkov & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Justas Streimikis, 2021. "Barriers and Drivers of Renewable Energy Penetration in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-28, October.
    18. Heldeweg, Michiel A. & Séverine Saintier,, 2020. "Renewable energy communities as ‘socio-legal institutions’: A normative frame for energy decentralization?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    19. Côté, Elizabeth & Đukan, Mak & Pons-Seres de Brauwer, Cristian & Wüstenhagen, Rolf, 2022. "The price of actor diversity: Measuring project developers’ willingness to accept risks in renewable energy auctions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    20. Radtke, Jörg & Ohlhorst, Dörte, 2021. "Community Energy in Germany – Bowling Alone in Elite Clubs?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7181-:d:836885. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.