Scaling is Prevailing. Testing theoretical conditions in practice to scale-up local renewable energy cooperatives in the Netherlands

Abstract

The production of renewable energy in the Netherlands is not sufficient to reach the European goals set for 2020. In part, this is due to the centralised governance and locked-in mechanisms that are inherent to the current Dutch energy sector. As an alternative to this system, local communities are establishing Local Renewable Energy Cooperatives (LREC). These LREC are self-governing cooperatives that have the potential to enhance a needed energy transition when they are scaled-up. This research attempts to uncover which conditions will foster the upscaling of LREC. To reach this objective, a conceptual framework was constructed from academic literature that identified 29 conditions for upscaling. This conceptual framework was scrutinised by empirically validating the conditions through a multiple case study and questionnaire. The results of the multiple case indicated that having the right people on the right place in the board was most relevant for the four consulted cases. While the 15 respondents of the questionnaire identified four conditions for upscaling to be most relevant, namely the skills of the board, having local political support, having a dedicated board and establishing a positive view in the community. This lead to the construction of the revised framework for upscaling specifically tailored for LREC. It is advised that LREC who seek to scale-up their activities, to focus their efforts on implementing one of these conditions to scale. In a first instance by dedication attention to having the right people on the right place as this condition was selected by the more experienced LREC in the multiple case study. For future research, the conceptual framework and revised framework could be tested among a larger sample of cooperatives or in different countries that have an established tradition with LREC as Denmark for example.