Thread by @ThomasBauwens1

What does "community" mean in energy systems? Our new #openaccess paper (bit.ly/30JTU0e) provides conceptual clarity through a systematic review of 405 papers and an analysis of 183 definitions. Here are our main findings! ⬇️(THREAD) #CommunityEnergy #renewableenergy

1. Despite a multiplicity of concepts referring to community-based initiatives in energy systems (community solar, community wind, renewable energy community etc.), “community energy” and “energy community” have become predominant in the literature.

2. There are striking variations in the meanings attached to the notion of community and the alleged objectives pursued by communities across concepts and over time.

3. More social aspects of community are prominent for the concepts of community (renewable) energy. This is reflected in our keyword analysis, which shows that “community energy” connects to keywords reflecting the “process” dimension, unlike “energy community” or other concepts.

4. There is a shift away from community as a process and an increasing emphasis on community as a place. Economic objectives pursued by communities are also becoming increasingly prominent in the literature.

5. Overall, our analysis shows a weakening in scholars’ attention to transformative notions of community that emphasize collective and grassroots participation in energy transitions, to the benefit of instrumental notions of community focusing on more techno-economic aspects.

6. This trend runs the risk of placing the emphasis solely on the instrumental and market values of communities, thereby blurring their distinctiveness from more commercial actors and diluting the unique contributions they could make in advancing just energy transitions.

These findings may be of interest to @DirkVansintjan @AttyforEarth @nicolorossettoP @WilfriedvanSark @Tarek_Skaif @bpkoirala2 @david_parramen @dyon75 @Klimaatzuster @UUCopernicus @LexScn

cc @bordr6 @holstenkamp1

@bordr6 @holstenkamp1 @rescoopv @RescoopPlus @_Genossenschaft @IRENA @eumayors @ICLEI @REScoopVPP @Comm1nrg @SomEnergia @enostra @Ecopower_BE @icacoop @TinneVdS @BurgerenergieBE @CompileH2020 @SONNET_energy @BecoopH2020 @GreenpeaceEU

@bordr6 @holstenkamp1 @rescoopv @RescoopPlus @_Genossenschaft @IRENA @eumayors @ICLEI @REScoopVPP @Comm1nrg @SomEnergia @enostra @Ecopower_BE @icacoop @TinneVdS @BurgerenergieBE @CompileH2020 @SONNET_energy @BecoopH2020 @GreenpeaceEU @SaraTachelet @AnnaJWieczorek