Community solar: participation, organisation, and regulation

In this project, joint ownership of solar electricity, so-called solar communities, is in focus. Energy communities are emphasized by e.g. the EU as important for developing sustainable energy systems that include and engage many people. However, there is a lack of research on the conditions for participation in these communities. We lack knowledge of how and under what conditions energy communities can allow for participation based on inclusion, diversity and variation and make solar energy accessible to more groups. This knowledge gap will be addressed in this project by examining how participation, organization and regulation affect the conditions for solar communities in Sweden and which citizens choose to participate. The project consists of four work packages that include mapping based on existing databases and documents and case studies to collect new data. Since the number of solar communities in Sweden is still small, a comparison will be made with wind power communities.