Positive energies

This thesis explains the influence of renewable energy cooperatives on consumer engagement within the context of distributed generation systems. As part of the efforts to decarbonize the global energy system, an increasing number of bottom-up initiatives and grassroots organizations emerge to explore the benefits of decentralized energy systems. The rise of distributed generation systems provides opportunities to involve local citizens and civil communities in the global and local energy transition. However, this process must be complemented with the active engagement of citizens with these novel types of localized, small-scale, and renewables-based energy systems to guarantee their technical and financial viability. In particular, the re-emergence of the cooperative model in the energy sector can help to engage consumers with these innovative technologies. The purpose of this thesis is to provide insights into the extent to which the structural characteristics of renewable energy cooperatives influence the attitudes and behaviours of their members. Two separate case studies located in the Netherlands, Blijstroom and Loenen Cooperative, are selected based on their structural and contextual characteristics, as well as the projects implemented, to empirically reflect on their similarities and differences. The primary qualitative data used in this research include semi-structured interviews and short embedded questionnaires conducted with the organizations’ members. Secondary data comprises desktop research (documents, facts, and figures from the selected case studies as well as academic articles) to investigate specific structural characteristics of the cooperatives. By gathering perspectives and insights from the respondents, this research unveils and explains the effects of extrinsic structures on social actors’ individual and collective engagement. The data analysis performed in this research indicates that no distinct correlation between the variance in structures of renewable energy cooperatives and the variance in consumer engagement can be demonstrated. On the contrary, the study finds that, regardless of their characteristics, renewable energy cooperatives activate social norms and promote common interests, reducing the cognitive distance between energy generation and production, and providing incentives for local stakeholders to engage with innovative and decentralized energy systems. On one hand, this paper advocates conducting further research on different renewable energy cooperatives’ structures, cross-country analysis on drivers and barriers of consumer engagement, and the role of renewable energy cooperatives in the urban energy transition. On the other hand, this study recommends policymaking to consider the importance of non-price-based mechanisms to harness the potential of local communities in the energy transition and to reflect on renewable energy cooperatives as key stakeholders to promote polycentric governance in urban areas.