Community Energy in the Eastern Baltic Sea Region: From Standstill to First Steps

This chapter aims to explore community energy (CE)—energy communities that are established and run by private citizens—in four Eastern European countries. The chapter first analyses general contextual conditions supporting the diffusion of CE initiatives in the Baltic Sea Region. Subsequently, it reports the findings of four case studies from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland illustrating some of the main drivers, barriers, and benefits of CE projects in those countries. Significative contextual differences between the eastern and western sides of the Baltic Sea Region were found. Although some countries in the eastern Baltic Sea Region have introduced policies that may promote CE projects, cultural barriers hinder citizen participation in community-based renewable energy generation.