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07 FEATURE
STATUS AND TRENDS
Since 2008, there has been a marked rise in initiatives focused
on community renewable energy, especially in Europe. 5 In
industrialised countries, particularly over the past decade,
community renewable energy initiatives have tended to rely
on government incentive schemes and market mechanisms,
whereas in the developing world, initiatives often rely on
additional government and NGO support or on partnerships
with private enterprises. 6 To some degree, community energy
projects across the world have tended to develop in more
affluent communities, often where there is greater energy literacy
and interest in environmental issues. 7 The role and potential of
community renewable energy projects in larger urban areas
is, as yet, underdeveloped. 8 Projects historically have relied on
wind power, small-scale hydropower and micro-hydro (typically
5-100 kW), biogas and solar PV technologies.
In Europe, more than 2,800 energy co-operatives were in
operation as of 2015. 9 In Germany, the number of renewable
energy co-operatives increased from 67 to 772 between 2008
and 2014. 10 Although almost half (46%) of the installed renewable
energy capacity in Germany is owned by private individuals
and farmers, the growth of renewable energy co-operatives has
decelerated, due largely to recent changes in energy policy. 11 The
Netherlands has experienced similar growth, with the number of
energy co-operatives increasing from 19 in 2008 to 500 in 2015. 12
In Scotland, an estimated 508 MW of community and locally
owned capacity began operation in 2015, already exceeding the
government’s 2020 target of 500 MW.
In Australia, 45 community energy projects had been deployed by
2015, and 70 more were in planning phases. 13 However, projects
in Australia have faced difficulties in the form of investment
regulations (limiting small-scale projects to no more than 20
investors per project within a 12-month period) and financial
constraints. 14
Community renewable energy projects are beginning to play an
important role in many parts of the United States and Canada,
where individual states and provinces are free to set their own
policies governing co-operatives and local energy policy. 15 Several
US states – including Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and
Vermont – and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and
Ontario have supported community renewable energy projects
through tax credits, net metering and other policy measures. 16
Some countries in Asia have a history of community energy
projects, particularly in micro-hydro generation. For example,
in India, community energy projects (largely micro-hydro) have
existed since the 1950s. In Nepal, roughly 15% of electricity is
produced by community-owned micro-hydro installations. 17
In Latin America, renewable energy co-operatives are playing an
important role in the electrification of rural areas. 18 Costa Rica,
with its ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral in 2021, is
home to four energy co-operatives with over 180,000 members,
controlling almost 15% of the energy market. 19 In Chile, new
co-operative initiatives are emerging out of a period of intensive
opposition to proposed large-scale coal-fired and hydroelectric
generation. Recent legislative changes are allowing the entry of
small-scale generators to the electricity market for the first time. 20
In Africa, existing community energy projects have been initiated
largely by international NGOs, governments, and educational and
religious institutions, such as the SharedSolar initiative developed
by Columbia University. In poor, rural parts of Africa, formal
recognition such as bank accounts or official holdings are rare
for individuals and small businesses. Without such recognition,
initiating community energy projects is difficult. 21 Nonetheless,
there are some successful examples of more localised initiatives,
for example in East Africa, where community energy projects
have driven energy access efforts in areas that lack a centralised
electricity grid. 22 (p See Sidebar 5.)
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