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Published in:
Introduction: The Challenge of Achieving the Energy Transition Read chapter Read first chapter

2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

7. Renewable Energy Cooperatives

Authors : Jens Lowitzsch, Florian Hanke

Published in: Energy Transition

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The realisation of the Energy Transition and the compliance of climate and sustainability goals are among the greatest political challenges in Europe inseparably connected with a shift towards a decentralised renewable energy (RE) supply. The question is no longer whether this process is to be continued but how this transition can be facilitated. In this context RE cooperatives have gained importance as the collective organisation of a common objective in the form of a cooperative is based on particular benefits for all stakeholders and hence a cooperative surplus. Optimistic assessments surmise that by 2050 half of the EU population could be producing its own energy from RES and that collective projects, such as RE cooperatives, could contribute 37 per cent of the electricity produced by “energy citizens”. There are currently about 3500 RE cooperatives, mainly in Western European countries, of which 1500 and their one million members are represented by the European federation of RE cooperatives, REScoop.eu (REScoop.eu 2018b, 2018c; Huybrechts et al. 2018) and registered as a Renewable Energy Sources Cooperative (REScoop). Thereby RE cooperatives have the potential to not only become a successful model for consumer ownership in RE projects all over Europe but substantially contribute to the success of the energy transition as such. This chapter introduces the concept of RE cooperatives, discusses its advantages and disadvantages as a business model and investigates their potential as well as the obstacles to further development in the context of the Energy Transition. This analysis draws on examples from the countries under consideration as well as on information provided by REScoop.eu.

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previous chapter Financing Consumer (Co-)Ownership of Renewable Energy Sources
next chapter The CSOP-Financing Technique: Origins, Legal Concept and Implementation
Footnotes
1
Those principles are voluntary and open membership; democratic member control, economic participation by members; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community (ICA 1995).
 
2
Resource-based and activity-based RE cooperatives are commonly distinguished. The former focuses on the relevant resources they use, for example, photovoltaic, wind energy, bioenergy and service and marketing cooperatives. The latter refers to the main type of business activity and the value chain approach in the energy sector.
 
3
With respect to a comparative approach across jurisdictions, the fact that sources of cooperative law vary according to the respective legal system complicates the analysis with differences in regional or state competence for cooperative regulation adding complexity.
 
4
For an international overview of cooperative law, see Cracogna et al. (2013): Part III Cooperative Law: An International Overview.
 
5
For an in-depth analysis of institutional factors (community, locality and cooperative tradition) on the emergence of RE cooperatives in South Tyrol (Wirth 2014).
 
6
Some cooperative laws acknowledge “investing members” which may be granted additional voting rights; however, these still are not proportional to capital contributions and are limited by the principle that no member may have a dominating influence.
 
7
Voting agreements in company law may stipulate the utilising of voting rights according to instructions by a third party or codify behaviour during elections or voting. In Germany under certain restrictions, this applies also to cooperative law although in conflict with the principle of exercising individual suffrage (Lehnhoff et al. 2016).
 
8
In Germany, in cooperatives with more than 1500 members, representative’s meetings are allowed. This however limits direct participation and increases the dynamics common to the principal-agent problem. The introduction of alternative formats such as virtual assemblies is discussed in this context, but the legal basis for such methods remains unclear (Holstenkamp and Degenhart 2013).
 
9
A European cooperative financing tool will provide financing solutions to start RE cooperatives and take ownership in their projects; the REScoop MECISE project (http://​www.​rescoop-mecise.​eu/​) will then push the local cooperative to raise funds from local citizens and support their fund-raising campaign (REScoop.eu 2018a).
 
10
National support instruments like FITs provide security for citizens as investors making it easier for them to assess a project’s earnings (Yildiz 2014); however, with a Europe-wide trend to auction schemes substituting FITs, this will change in the foreseeable future.
 
11
Return on investment is often not the only reason, indeed, not the main reason why people participate in RE cooperatives. During the development phase, it may turn out that a RE cooperative is less profitable than initially expected or not profitable at all. By communicating such changing risks and their consequences openly, it is possible that members of a RE cooperative still decide to continue with the project (REScoop 2015a).
 
12
For detailed country reports on national legislations and cooperative law, see Cracogna et al. (2013); for country reports on policy frameworks for the social economy, see Liger et al. (2016).
 
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Metadata
Title
Renewable Energy Cooperatives
Authors
Jens Lowitzsch
Florian Hanke
Copyright Year
2019
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Book
Energy Transition

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93517-1

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-93518-8

Copyright Year: 2019

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93518-8_7