Paper long abstract:

During the last decades, many energy local energy cooperatives have been established, particularly in Europe. This paper examines to what extent these cooperaticves may change the current energy system or will develop into niche markets. We will first describe what should be seen as central elements of the 'energy regime' and as central elements of the local energy cooperatives. Then we will review some examples of succesfull cooperatives from some European countries and from the Netherlands. It is concluded that it is far to early to draw robust conclusions, but it is also concluded that there are some good examples of cooperatives that really lead to socio-technological innovations. These innovations, however, are more rooted in practical experiences than in large scale R&D programs. Some of these cooperative-based-innovations really affect elements of existing energy regimes, such as storage and distrinution systems, ownerships relations and pricing systems. Other cooperatives, however, appear to be part of the existing regime. The design of some new promising sustainable energy technologies, for instance concerning so-called smart grids and wind turbines. are hardly to combine with the objectives of the energy cooperatives. It is most likely that during the coming decades the energy cooperatives will function as a space for experimentation and probably as a market niche in several European countries.