Identifying Key Barriers to Joining an Energy Community Using AHP

Albina Dioba*, Amalia Giannakopoulou, David Struthers, Angelos Stamos, Siegfried Dewitte, Isabel Fróes

*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

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Abstract

Energy communities (ECs) offer a promising solution for achieving sustainable and decentralized energy systems. However, the successful establishment and operation of ECs requires overcoming barriers that can hinder stakeholder participation. Existing research has primarily focused on incentives and motivations to join ECs, thus neglecting a comprehensive understanding of the key barriers affecting EC stakeholders in European Union (EU) countries. This paper aims to fill this research gap by identifying and ranking the barriers to joining ECs in the EU context with focus on Spain and Italy. To accomplish this, a framework of barriers was developed based on 20 in-depth interviews with diverse stakeholders of established ECs and a survey (n=56). The barriers identified were categorized into four types: (a) financial, (b) regulatory and bureaucratic, (c) technical and practical, and (d) social and cultural. The analytical hierarchical process (AHP) methodology was employed to estimate and rank these barriers. The findings highlight that the most significant barrier categories are regulatory and bureaucratic, and financial. Specifically, regulatory complexity and legal limitations emerge as the top-ranked barriers among the obstacles identified to joining ECs by research participants.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer131478
TidsskriftEnergy
Vol/bind299
Antal sider43
ISSN0360-5442
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 15 jul. 2024

Bibliografisk note

Published online: 2 May 2024.

Emneord

  • Energy communities
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Energy transition
  • Analytical hierarchy process

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