6. Financing Consumer (Co-)Ownership of Renewable Energy Sources

Financing and governance in the renewable energy (RE) sector differ across countries and regions. The country reports in Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 illustrate this wide variance of structures to be found around the world, summarised in the comparative tables in Chapter 28 with regard to the resulting ownership structures distinguishing between communities of interest, communities of place and communities of interest and place. This chapter investigates commonalities and differences in the financing of consumer (co-)ownership in the countries analysed in this book. As the country chapters illustrate, contractual arrangements vary significantly within and between countries. Unlike geography or culture—within the boundaries of the legal framework—it is up to the contracting parties to choose the contractual settlement they deem most appropriate for the given project. To cast light on the reasons and the process of this choice, we present principles and decision criteria to select “appropriate” financing structures complementing this normative perspective with a description of financial and legal structures observed in the countries under examination. As investment motives largely determine what to be considered “appropriate” for the parties involved, we start with a brief overview of research on investment behaviour and motives, focusing on investments involving consumer (co-)ownership. Besides, we summarise some of the observations from the country chapters regarding the link between consumer co-financing and social investment.