At a local and regional level, energy cooperatives or self-consumer energy communities such as “communal solar” can make an important contribution to the transformation of the energy system. Energy cooperatives are pioneers which utilise new technologies and organisational procedures such as local consumption and the exchanging of energy between members. They work intensively with municipalities and in doing so advance local energy policy and its implementation. For the municipalities, they are welcome partners who support them in the development and implementation of their energy policy. See also in this regard the project “Regulations for the building stock”.
The project “Collective financing of renewable energies”Project “Collective financing of renewable energy” concludes that the organisation of the electricity market does not play a major role during the establishment of energy cooperatives. A territorial monopoly enjoyed by a utility company can even be a benefit here as, due to less pronounced competitive pressure, the energy provider is more inclined to support the cooperative or procure the generated electricity at cost-covering prices. However, the cooperatives are thus dependent on the goodwill of the energy supplier or on the political will that determines the energy supplier’s focus. In the case of reluctant energy suppliers who only pay a small amount for the feeding in of electricity, the greater liberalisation of the electricity market could open up new sales opportunities for energy cooperatives. Furthermore, such market liberalisation would also provide greater potential for the networking of energy cooperatives, for example in the form of joint business activities.
Until now, however, the quantity of renewable energy produced by energy cooperatives has been very modest. Swiss energy cooperatives are also hesitating to extend their activities as the communal energy suppliers or consumers do not cover their costs and their access to feed-in remuneration is limited. The project “Collective financing of renewable energies” emphasises that they require greater support in order to be able to expand.Local community solutions promote the use of solar energy
Energy hub, a multi-energy system that comprises various conversion and storage components as well as networks, has comprehensive local control mechanisms and can be brought into effect on different scales spacially.
