@article{94cdea2b750a486ea0183538d3fae9cf,
title = "Challenging obduracy: How local communities transform the energy system",
abstract = "The transformation from the current energy system to a decentralized renewable energy system requires the transformation of communities into energy neutral or even energy producing communities. Increasingly, citizens become {\textquoteleft}prosumers{\textquoteright} and pool their resources to start a local energy initiative. In this paper we present an in-depth study of networks that recently developed, which challenge the established way of centralized decision-making on energy resources. Many local communities are eager to promote sustainable energy production, to use local financial resources for the local community and to employ democratic governance of energy production and supply. Furthermore, we study how these co-operations are linked to local, regional and national networks for community energy. We use both Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Social Movement Theory (SMT) to investigate the initiatives, as this allows a dynamic analysis of collective strategies. We discuss the obduracy of the energy system and how this system is challenged by new connections between communities and global networks and by new types of energy providers that are rooted in social networks. Furthermore, we draw attention to the way community energy networks provide a social innovation while realizing a decentralized and decarbonized energy system.",
keywords = "Community energy, Cooperatives, Energy transition, Renewable energy",
author = "{Van Der Schoor}, Tineke and {Van Lente}, Harro and Bert Scholtens and Alexander Peine",
note = "Funding Information: In accordance with SMT we observe that initiatives {\textquoteleft} confront political authority on specific grounds{\textquoteright} (Melucci) ; they regularly try to influence local decision-making, but emphasise that they do not take part in traditional party-politics. The relation of local cooperatives with the municipal and provincial government can be characterised by a certain degree of unease. For example, in Drenthe none of the municipalities is a client of NLD, and neither are the provinces, although they expressed their sympathy and helped its foundation with a loan. Furthermore, only the municipality of Midden-Drenthe has a clear approach to local energy initiatives and has an active local energy policy, supported by instruments such as courses for homeowners, Financial support for local projects or initiatives is lacking, while the sustainable energy fund in Drenthe rules out small initiatives, due of the financial threshold of €50.000 per project. In the province of Friesland municipalities and the province have drafted lofty visions on sustainable energy, but according to our respondents they lack capacity and instruments to put these visions into practice. The province of Groningen has installed a fund to support local initiatives as well as a special instrument for large(r) projects. On the municipal level, authorities organize information meetings for local cooperatives and increasingly include local energy production in policy documents. It seems a difficult task for local and provincial authorities to find appropriate ways to financially support local energy production. They have to steer between EU regulation regarding government aid, making funds available for small ventures, high costs for operating support schemes, and loss of influence over provincial funds. However, an in-depth analysis of provincial energy funds is outside the scope of this article and would merit a separate investigation. 5 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.",
year = "2016",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1016/j.erss.2015.12.009",
language = "English",
volume = "13",
pages = "94--105",
journal = "Energy Research and Social Science",
issn = "2214-6326",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",
}