The Economics of Distributed Energy Generation a Literature Review

Abstract

New decentralized energy-generation technologies have turned economies of scale upside down while becoming more than economically viable. At the same time, the increased penetration of information technologies has led to new opportunities to manage infrastructure in a less hierarchical, more flexible way. Together with citizen demands for control over energy, these two converging trends has put free energy communities (ECs) on the agenda, potentially advancing the transition towards more sustainable energy systems, despite hindrances encountered on the manner. This paper presents a case study of the planning process of a sustainable city commune in Sweden, using participatory observations and interviews conducted with included stakeholders. We analyse how the included stakeholders has reasoned about establishing a sustainable energy system in the surface area, including a microgrid. The discussions on a microgrid comprised two parallel discourses, coexisting but seldomly explicitly confronted. The distribution organisation operator in the surface area promoted a distributed energy system (DES) solution, while the property developers opted for a microgrid organized more as a citizen energy community (CEC). We discuss why the CEC proponents and then far has lost the battle of creating a community owned smart grid. We conclude that the different models, a DES and a CEC, comprise different values and an increased focus on energy communities could shift the transition pathway towards a more decentralized organisation involving other prioritise than just economic.

Introduction

The energy system is transitioning to become more sustainable. One trend is for large-calibration, centralized, and fossil-fuelled systems to modify to the pocket-sized-scale product of renewables, with implications for the ownership and performance of free energy systems [one]. Such decentralization is seen as a fashion to arrange the grid to amend fit the needs of energy transition [2]. Decentralized renewable energy systems are being promoted by the European union (EU). They are seen equally benign in many ways, equally they increase local energy production, bolster energy supply security, and reduce transmission losses (Eu [3] of the European Parliament and of the Council, Rec. 65). Decentralized free energy systems (DES) too have the potential to empower and engage local communities if citizens are given control over local energy resources. Furthermore, the European union supports decentralized energy systems because they accept multiple benefits, such as increased local production, energy supply security, and reduced transmission losses ([3] of the European Parliament and of the Council Rec. 65). These technical changes, with e.yard. more PV and current of air power, are also related to and dependent on accompanying changes in actors and institutions [iv, 5]. Another trend is for citizens to start enervating control ever energy production by establishing local community-owned renewable free energy installations, such as solar power plants [6]. These community initiatives are referred to every bit energy communities (ECs). In this article will DESes and ECs exist compared and contrasted in relation to the discussion to establish a microgrid in a urban center district in Sweden. The reason for the comparison is to highlight that even though they share many similarities the concepts include differences that will lead to rather different pathways depending of if a DES or a EC is chosen as a unit of organisaiton. Before going in more than in depth to how the assay will be done, an overview of ECs and DESes will exist given Fig. ane.

Free energy Community (EC)

In the EU'south "Clean Energy for all Europeans" package (CEP), citizens are in the centre [2] and great hope is put on energy communities (ECs) to make the energy arrangement more than sustainable. The CEP contains eight legislative acts, two of which are specially important to ECs. The recast Electricity Marketplace Directive (IEMD) covers common rules for the internal market place in electricity and the the Renewable Free energy Directive (REDII) established a new binding renewable target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32%. Free energy communities are mentioned and defined in both the RED II and the IEMD. Common for both directives is that ECs is defined every bit formed by the collaboration of local stakeholders who produce, swallow, and manage their ain energy for the principal purpose of creating economical, environmental, and social benefits for the community. There is hope that the number of ECs volition increment, making them a "game changer" leading to the transition of fossil-dependent free energy systems and in an increase of non-commercial actors on the electricity market. Renewable Energy communities (REC) will contribute to energy production that is increasingly local, renewable, and participatory, helping create truly sustainable energy systems encompassing all iii dimensions of sustainability [7]. Citizen Energy Communities (CEC) will contribute with increasing the number of non-commercial actors Individuals can derive several benefits from being EC members, including less money spent on free energy, more than reliable energy supply, control over energy sources, and a feeling of participation in environmental protection, community building, and self-realization [vi, viii,9,10]. The European Committee believes that giving citizens more than control and access volition enable them to improve their quality of life and finances [2]. For societies, ECs are in full general said to increase renewable generation, have potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mobilize individual capital for renewable energy investments, better free energy system flexibility, and promote regional economies [11,12,13,fourteen]. ECs are besides expected to convalesce energy poverty and protect vulnerable citizens [ii, 15]. However, the modest number of ECs makes information technology hard for them to contribute significantly to radical change in terms of renewable free energy adoption [sixteen]. Optimistic estimates telephone call for half of EU citizens to produce their ain energy past 2050, accounting for 45% of the European union'due south unabridged electricity production [17]. Several barriers to such growth need to be solved, such as dependence on voluntary work, lack of resources, lack of expertise, scepticism virtually CEs, and lack of policy support [9, xviii, 19]. As well, several barriers to EC germination need to be addressed, such every bit dependence on voluntary work, lack of resources, lack of expertise, scepticism most ECs, and lack of policy support [9, 18, nineteen].

In that location is no unmarried agreed-on definition of ECs in the literature [20], but nigh definitions state that they involve collaborations in local communities that produce, consume, and manage their own energy to create economical, environmental, and social benefits for the community. Walker and Devine-Wright [21] stated that an 'ideal' EC project would be when a group of local people manage the project themselves and which benefits the local community. Walker [22] showed that ECs tin vary depending on their location, the relationships betwixt involved members, and whether they are virtual or physical. The literature usually describes ECs equally established to produce and consume energy [23, 24], but some ECs engage in free energy activities beyond product [11]. Gui and MacGill [25] claimed that ECs can also participate in activities such as ship, h2o supply, and waste material direction in lodge to produce social, environmental, and economic benefits for dissimilar types of communities. Studies of ECs have generally focused more on rural and remote regions than on urban areas [8].

Distributed Free energy Organization (DES)

Another form of energy system transformation discussed in earlier research and mentioned to a higher place is to develop a DES. DES is similar to ECs promoted by the European union and the two accept many similarities. DES incorporating distributed generation and microgeneration technologies such as solar photovoltaics (PVs) and is seen as benign because it amongs others increase local energy production and increase the security of energy supply. DES has likewise the potential to empower the local community, but the owners of the distribution arrangement and applied science is left undefined, i.east., the onwers could nonetheless exist incumbent actors and do not need to be located in the proximity of the DES. A DES is rather divers as a system in which energy production and consumption are in close proximity (but not the buying) [26, 27].

However, as Allan et al. [27] noted, like to the situation with an EC, there is no consensus in the literature as to a precise definition. According to the EU Commission [2], decentralized energy systems can contribute to the emergence of ECs and empower and engage local communities by increasing citizen control over energy resources. DESs does however not require a specific ownership or decision-making construction and a DES can be owned and controlled by traditional energy visitor or by citizens or whatsoever other constellation.

DES has become a trend due to their specific characteristics compared with those of national grids. Local communities might face new prospects in relation to the evolution of distributed free energy systems. For example, in cities, DES' would permit consumers to merchandise the energy they have locally produced themselves [28].

1 way towards more decentralized organization is local microgeneration and local distribution of electricity by microgrids. These can be organized in different forms, as a DES or a CEC. Earlier the analysis of the planning of a microgrid in Malmö, Sweden, an overview of the development of microgrids will be presented.

Microgrids equally Ways toward Decentralization

Microgrids accept primarily been envisioned to see the needs of remote areas due to inaccessibility of utility power, but considering of the brunt on the urban utility grids, microgrids focus has been shifting towards urban communities [29]. Microgrids are used in customs energy systems [30]. The establishment of a microgrid has been much debated in the urban planning process in our case written report that we will describe beneath. Microgrids are local grids that can function independently of the main grid in "island mode". Depending on the context, they can exist important parts of the wider main grid, leveling demand peaks in the wider grid and helping reduce the effects of bereft capacity. Though there are several types, a microgrid tin be defined as "a group of multiple distributed generation (DG) units and loads operating as a coordinated system, continued to the main electrical filigree at a unmarried point (typically, at the distribution level), and able to function in parallel with the grid or in island fashion" [31]. The chief characteristic of a microgrid is the power to operate in isle mode, separate from the main grid. Information technology should be noted that connecting a microgrid to the wider grid entails challenges associated with control, protection, regulation, and customer participation [32].

Microgrids can increment the main grid'due south resilience [xxx, 33], provide increased flexibility to the functioning of the power organization [33] and help incorporate distributed renewable energy generation [34]. They tin can enhance supply reliability as they offer the potential to provide energy in case of power outages in the superordinate grid [35, 33] and sustain the supply of renewable energy fifty-fifty during major disruptions. Due to these reasons, they have gained popularity for resiliency enhancement). However, microgrid evolution is still in a determinative phase [36]. Microgrids play a role in offering economical value and business concern opportunities in transition towards smart cities, because they facilitate interactions among stakeholders that can lead to outcomes in economic values and social welfare [33]. Furthermore, energy trading among microgrids is being adult to back up free energy modify amongst microgrids [37]. Due to microgrids' resilient nature, remote microgrids are used in, for case, maritime, military machine, spaceship, infirmary, and campus contexts [36]. According to the literature, one benefit of microgrids is increased reliability in areas where more resilience is needed, because they let for local site-specific generation and utilise of (renewable) energy. Since the scale of a microgrid is smaller than that of the main grid, less energy is lost in conversion. Due to their ability to switch to island mode, microgrids are particularly useful in areas where the principal grid is less extensive or where grid conditions are otherwise unreliable. The closeness of microgeneration to consumers increases the likelihood that consumers will know something most how their ability was generated. Domestic microgeneration technologies such as PVs and wild turbines are, unlike centralized generation facilities, visible and touchable, besides contributing to such awareness [38].

Aim

In this paper, nosotros analyze the planning process of a decentralized energy systems, focusing the planning of a microgrid, in a city district in Malmö, Sweden. The analysis takes a socio-technical arroyo concentrating on how the included actors motivated dissimilar system designs in relation to ownership structures and values, using CEC and DES as analytical framework. Fundamental inquiry questions are: How has the planning of an energy organization in general and a microgrid specifically been influenced by, if the future arrangement has been framed as a DES or a CEC? Which conflicts have occurred and how have the actors reasoned around pros and cons with a DES and a CEC?

When analyzing the material in relation to DES and CES a socio-technical systems theory will be utilized to provide not only a technical but also an histrion-focused approach of the planning process. Taking such a systemic approach means seeing elements of a system, such every bit technical components, actors and organisations and legal framework every bit interacting with each other in a not-linear fashion. Approaching the energy organization in Malmö as socio-technical means that both the fabric and social parts of the system need to exist considered to sympathise the possible development paths [39,40,41]. This hateful when analyzing the development of a microgrid, not just technical aspects, simply also elements such every bit how the organisation is defined, the purpose of the system and buying and control are essential factors for the outcome. These and other factors will be included, which is described below in the analytical framework.

DES and CEC – The Analytical Framework

To be able to analyze the 2 pathways nosotros discerned by identifying and comparing differences between the definitions, purposes, and ownership structures of DESs and ECs the framework beneath was adult. These differences are described in Table 1, which presents the analytical framework for categorizing and understanding the dialogues and gathered empirical data on a deeper level.

Table 1 Belittling framework: definition, setup, purpose, and buying construction of DES versus CEC

Total size table

DES and CEC are both characterized past distributed generation and the use of small scale free energy production located in proximity to the people or engineering science using the electricity produced. The differences between CEC and DES is related to ownership and the purpose with the system. When it comes to DES there are no restriction in who tin own and command the arrangement, while CEC must be controlled by fellow member not engaged in large-scale commercial activity or having free energy a primary expanse of economic activeness. The purpose also differ, where an CEC opens up for more purposes than a DES. DES and CEC also comes with different values connected to them where DES is more restricted to promoting renewables and increase knowledge in the area, whereas CEC also include values such every bit building trust and energy literacy.

Adjacent, the methodology volition be described before the case is presented and analysed.

Methodology

In this paper, we accept chosen the case study method due to its power not only to foster agreement of specific phenomena or places simply besides to develop theory [42]. At that place is a value of example studies in generating theoretical concepts and explanations that potentially resonate in other, as yet unstudied, contexts [43]. Case studies can produce deep and concrete explanations of social phenomena and robust, trustworthy theoretical explanations [42].

The studied case is an urban development project in the Sege Park area in Malmö, southern Sweden. Although Sege Park is described as a new metropolis commune, the area has a long history. What is now called Sege Park was previously known as Östra Sjukhus ("Eastern Infirmary"), the environs of a former mental hospital in northern Malmö, role of the Kirseberg ("Cherry Colina") city district. The hospital was closed in 1995. Since and then, preschools and elementary schools take been established in the expanse and some of the buildings transformed into student residences. The goal of development projects in this city district is to transform this sometime infirmary area into an urban area with a mix of housing, businesses, public services, and public parks. Co-ordinate to plans, by 2025 there should exist 1340 dwellings. The evolution process has been characterized by a sustainable arroyo with a specific focus on creating a low-carbon commune and innovative sharing solutions.

Furthermore, Sege Park has a Climate and Recycling Agreement and Strategy developed by the metropolis with six goals relating to energy. This Strategy is closely connected to the goal of the metropolis of Malmö to become the nearly "climate-smart" city in Sweden by 2030. The city, an energy company, and the water and sewage company all signed an agreement in January 2018 that was intended to support and facilitate property developers in Sege Park (Memory notes by Malmö urban center, 25 January 2018). Amid the goals are that at to the lowest degree 40% of full electricity production will come from renewable sources in Sege Park, solar energy solutions should be used, and all buildings should exist connected to a smart grid.

Fieldwork and Information Collection

In Feb 2015, the land allocation programme for Sege Park was published, clarifying that involved property developers were expected to participate in a property developer dialogue. The purpose of this dialogue was to attain agreement on strategies and procedures for testing various sustainable solutions and to design a low-carbon community. The kickoff belongings developer meeting was held in May 2017. We have followed and observed these developer dialogue meetings since August 2017, and as of summertime 2020, 28 meetings had been organized. For Sege Park meetings that we cannot attend, nosotros and other participating actors have access to all relevant documentation via a binder on the Sharepoint web platform. Dialogue meetings usually final from 8.xxx am to 12.00 apex, and each meeting has one or two focus themes, such equally energy, the stormwater system, mobility, and waste management.

In spring 2020, 12 holding developers were allocated land in the Sege Park area. At the beginning of the project, there were thirteen participating developers, only i subsequently decided to exit the project. We take interviewed representatives from all 13 developers. Property developers in Sege Park are a mixed group comprising everything from major national developers of residential housing projects to a customs of private individuals who will catechumen one of the surface area'south existing buildings into cooperative housing.

Ethical considerations in this study mainly business organization the anonymization of informants. Information technology is increasingly difficult to offer full anonymity to communities or individuals in the modern world [44]. All the same, our aim was to anonymize informants as far as possible, so we accept randomly numbered the property developers as Belongings Developer 1, Property Developer 2, Property Developer 3, etc., to distinguish them transparently from i another. When we take interviewed several representatives from the same organization, we distinguish them by appending messages, for case, Property Developer 3a, 3b etc. We have also interviewed representatives from the urban center of Malmö.

Nosotros gathered data through participatory observations, interviews, and literature enquiry. Some interviews were conducted face to face, while others by telephone or using Zoom conference software. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The analysed literature included iii consultancy reports [45,46,47] deputed for Sege Park in which the energy system is considered or is the focus of analysis. We farther analysed all dialogue meeting documentation available via Sharepoint, such as PowerPoint files, notes, reports, maps, pictures, and drawings.

Results

We will start by giving an overview of our investigations apropos the establishment of a sustainable energy organization in the area, where nosotros volition focus on the discussion around having a microgrid in Sege Park. We will and then relate these investigations to: how microgrids are defined; their setups, purposes, and buying structures, equally presented in the to a higher place analytical framework; and the kinds of activities the DES and CEC pathways include.

The Idea of a Microgrid in the Planning Process of Sege Park

In Sege Park, the microgrid discussions concerned the installation by property owners of various sustainable measures in their buildings, such equally rooftop PVs. Hither we will omit discussion of the individual solutions and instead focus the assay on the system solutions for the whole Sege Park surface area, especially on the discussions of a microgrid.

The first consultant written report, from 2015, was written very early on in the process and only listed different potential free energy solutions for the expanse. The simply free energy organization-related recommendation it fabricated concerned the electricity system and establishing a smart grid. The report stated that if a smart filigree and demand-response organisation were to exist implemented in the expanse, a mutual organization running and maintaining the organisation should be considered. Although the report does not specifically mention the EC concept, information technology seems as though such cooperation was at least not ruled out. The report emphasized that if a microgrid were to be installed, it must be done in a robust style that suited people'southward everyday lives, which would require an organization that could back up and maintain the system. Even so, in the report, the recommendation was not to install a microgrid, considering the administrative and other costs were considered too loftier for such a small area as Sege Park [46].

The idea of a microgrid did not disappear from the agenda, notwithstanding. Early in the process, the microgrid idea was continued to the installation of solar ability in the area. The property developers saw potential in having rooftop PVs, a ground-mounted PV found in the area, and a microgrid, making information technology possible to share electricity among the developers.

However, the ground-mounted PV constitute needed space where information technology could be installed (Observation, 19 Jun 2018). 1 option was for the urban center of Malmö to allocate space in the zoning plan for PV installation in a specific green area in the heart of Sege Park, an area that the city owned and controlled. This solution was up for discussion on several occasions. At a meeting in Jan 2019, the city of Malmö declared that it was not prepared to accept a PV institute installed in the planned greenfield area, because the PV institute would be considered a private facility benefitting the property owners, i.due east., a limited number of private companies operating in Sege Park. Co-ordinate to the Sege Park zoning programme, any facility located in the city-owned mutual area needed to benefit all Malmö'south citizens, non just a few actors in Sege Park. If the PV plant was a facility owned past, for case, a distributed system operator (DSO) and its product was delivered to Malmö's general electricity grid, than a ground-mounted PV plant could be an pick. In this instance, it would be considered a public utility with wide benefits for all Malmö citizens (Memory notes by Malmö metropolis, 17 Jan 2019). In other words, a ground mounted PV plant could be installed if organised as a DES, simply not if organised every bit a EC. At a meeting on 17th of January 2019, the DSO noted that they expected 50% of the local electricity need to be covered by product within Sege Park, and that the other 50% could be covered past a PV park somewhere else in the region, outside both Sege Park and Malmö itself, i.due east., information technology was not necessary for the DSO to employ the light-green surface area in Sege Park (Observation, 17 January 2019). Later on the meeting, the property developers seemed to abandon the thought of a ground-mounted PV plant, though the idea of a microgrid survived.

ÅF, a consultancy firm, was hired by the property developers to investigate potential free energy system solutions, including a microgrid, for Sege Park. The starting betoken in ÅF's report for word of a smart grid was the establishment of PV solar production in the area. Fifty-fifty though a ground-mounted PV found was not an option, rooftop PVs were to exist installed. ÅF stated in its written report that within Sege Park, the dissimilar properties have different weather condition for rooftop PV installation: some roofs were under conservation protection that forbade PV installation, and other roofs might have designs unsuitable for PV installation. Nonetheless, the holding developers wanted to use the solar free energy produced in the surface area in all the area's backdrop. A microgrid would exist a solution allowing buildings without PVs to exist connected and benefit from the solar power produced in the area [47].

The ÅF report described the advantages of a microgrid. For example, a microgrid would permit the increased self-use of PV power, which would exist beneficial because the price of buying one kWh of electricity exceeded the compensation received for selling an equivalent amount of electricity back to the filigree. In add-on, power peaks in the area could potentially be lowered, as the power use could be averaged over more consumers.

There were no technical difficulties in installing such a solution; rather, the bug related to the legal framework. According to chapter 2 of the Electricity Act, which concerns grid concessions and the regulation of exemptions from the requirement for grid concessions, an electrical distribution line must not extend between buildings. At that place are exceptions in the Act allowing internal networks to exist built, for example, within a building or between facilities and buildings not intended as residential buildings simply that are virtually residential buildings (e.g., bike parking, recycling, and laundry facilities). Certain types of properties are likewise exempted, such equally hospitals, schools, airports, and agricultural facilities. Just as the Electricity Deed is written for the moment it was not possible for an CEC to own a microgrid in the area.

The written report also emphasized that the development of the expanse was proceeding apace and that the constabulary was not keeping up. At that place was a meaning possibility that the regulations would eventually modify, but that a microgrid in Sege Park would be in conflict with the Swedish regulations existing at the fourth dimension. For legal reasons, the consultant could therefore non recommend the construction of a microgrid connectedness between the properties, although the consultant was otherwise positive regarding the microgrid as a technical solution. The report said that information technology would exist possible to prepare for a later microgrid, i.due east., to lay down empty conduits (Ascertainment, xxx January 2020). The empty conduits have been laid in the ground during 2021. A summary of how a microgrid has been discussed is seen in Fig. 2 below.

Purpose and Definition of a Smart Grid

Sege Park official documentation, strategies, and goals are written so every bit to support the concept of a DES. In policies and strategies such as the Climate and Recycling Understanding and the Sustainability Strategy, the energy arrangement every bit defined resembles a local DES. The stated purpose of the organization is that it should exist 100% renewable, that it should contribute to levelling electricity need peaks, and that information technology should be a smart grid, with the implicit supposition being that the system will exist owned by the DSO. The system as described could be controlled by whatever histrion as long equally it fulfils the criteria set for the area; however, the Climate and Recycling Agreement for the area was made with the free energy company, and this is reflected in its formulations, with the only actor specifically mentioned in the Agreement being the DSO. Also the Sustainability Strategy mentions only one actor, the DSO, when the Strategy states that the DSO should be approached for dialogue about a smart grid. The DSO is a key thespian in the Sege Park expanse and has signed the Sege Park agreement in Jan 2018. It is also the histrion leading the dialogue when the energy theme is discussed, or equally one holding developer put it:

We can choose DSO i, DSO 2, DSO 3 [i.eastward., different solutions provided by the same DSO], merely we may desire to choose a completely different solution. (Property Programmer 5)

The DSO was the actor leading the energy discussions at the dialogue meetings, giving the participants the opportunity to define the energy organisation and its purpose. It seemed articulate that the DSO saw Sege Park equally part of the wider electricity arrangement, always discussing it in terms of how Sege Park could contribute to the whole system. At a February 2019 meeting, the DSO reflected on what kind of value a community-owned system should offer. Again, the DSO emphasized that an important value was that Sege Park was part of Malmö's electricity arrangement, and by minimizing meridian demand in Sege Park, the district would do good Malmö's organization (Observation, 17 Feb 2019). This comment did non lead to whatsoever discussion among the property developers. However, the DSO had a broader system definition than did the holding developers, which in general defined the organisation as delimited past the boundaries around Sege Park.

The belongings developers did not directly discuss the purpose and definition of the energy arrangement during the meetings. They practical a more problem-based approach, discussing how to achieve the goal of achieving 100% renewable electricity supply, with solar ability being the primary focus. The property developers are the actors who are able to install rooftop PVs and, as mentioned higher up, the microgrid and direct-electric current (DC) grid concepts are related to finding a style to share self-produced electricity inside the area. During the interviews, many holding developers expressed their want for a shared solution in the area:

We will install solar panels in whatever case, but if there is a common solution, that would be interesting. (Belongings Programmer xiii)

We have looked into what nosotros every bit belongings developers can have: a grid that property owners themselves ain; DC and then that we tin can go along the energy within Sege Park. Those solar panels that are planned will exist continued to the existing filigree, simply and so nosotros have to sell back to the master filigree. With DC, we could keep the energy inside the district. (Holding Developer i)

We would like to look at distribution in the commune betwixt those who utilize electricity, but that is expensive. Sending electricity between houses would be interesting, but that is likewise expensive and there'south non plenty action during the daytime. (Belongings Developer ii)

We would like to share solar energy that we produce, between us belongings developers and trustees. (Property Developer 3)

Information technology was oftentimes implicit in the statements that the holding owners wanted a system controlled past the residents and companies in Sege Park. The DSO's stiff position was furthermore questioned by the belongings developers, most of whom wanted a more neutral party to lead the discussions of energy, as the post-obit quotations illustrate:

The DSO is problematic – I am surprised that there is such a tight link between the city of Malmö and the DSO. But nosotros [i.eastward., the visitor] have talked with other free energy companies as well. (Belongings Developer 4a)

Yes, the DSO is a powerful actor, but they are acting out of cocky-involvement. (Holding Developer 1)

It is problematic that there is a big energy thespian that is given a lot of latitude. Information technology is somewhat foreign that they come in and set the agenda for the area. (Property Developer 12)

A discussion topic closely related to the microgrid was the possibility of using a DC grid instead of an alternating electric current (Ac) grid. The idea of a DC grid was raised by the property developers. They noted that most appliances operate on DC, and that a DC filigree would be especially beneficial in combination with rooftop PVs, which generate DC that needs to be converted to Air-conditioning if an Ac filigree is installed. The DSO was reluctant to invest in a DC filigree, stating that "it would be very expensive because information technology would not exist an off-the-shelf solution" (Observation, nineteen Jun 2018). The DSO moreover stated that a DC grid could imply the need for two parallel grids in the surface area, because there would also have to be AC in the buildings for all services to function properly. The need for two grids was confirmed by the ÅF consultant, who furthermore institute that the savings would be insufficient. ÅF calculated that a DC filigree would save users 2%, and that while the cost of the grid was uncertain, information technology would "cost a lot" (Observation, 17 Feb 2019). The ÅF report was followed by some other investigation conducted by the consultant firm Knowit, which reached the aforementioned conclusion, i.e., that it was not financially justifiable to invest in a DC grid. Knowit's calculations showed that PVs in combination with a DC grid would not be financially better than having PVs in combination with an ordinary AC grid (Knowit PPt presentation, xxx Jan 2020).

A summary of the process in relation to purpose and definition of a microgrid is found in Fig. 3 below.

Ownership and Motivation for a CEC or a DES

In connection with Knowit'southward presentation at the meeting in January 2020 of its investigation results concerning the potential for a DC grid, a full general discussion of establishing a local microgrid started. At a meeting a consultant who had installed a DC filigree in another area in Sweden was invited by 1 property developer and participated via phone. When this consultant was asked for his opinion of microgrids and DC systems, it turned out that he was working with a CEC. The consultant said that CECs were of import at the EU level every bit part of the overall energy organisation transition. When creating a CEC, he thought information technology was appropriate to try to connect buildings and share PV production. All the same, this consultant had worked only with housing associations, which made the question of regulation unproblematic, since only single property owners were involved (Observation, 30 January 2020). In Sege Park, however, there are 12 property developers and connecting them in a microgrid would be illegal.

Furthermore, this consultant emphasized the need to focus on values other than economical ones when establishing an CEC: the primary issue the property developers needed to clarify between themselves was whether they had an interest in jointly owning and maintaining an energy system. He emphasized that an investment in a microgrid or DC filigree, or any other cooperatively owned energy arrangement, should non exist motivated by financial reasons solitary, but be based on other rationales and values. The conclusion should be related to the possibility of controlling the arrangement in the time to come, including decision-making electricity consumption, distribution, and product. The decision would be a strategic one concerning what Sege Park would be like every bit a customs. The consultant had no comment on Knowit'south fiscal calculations, but noted that the calculations were based on today'due south energy system, taking no account of futurity developments, such as increased grid fees (Observation, thirty January 2020).

In the word that followed, the issues of ownership and the motivation for joint ownership of the energy arrangement in the area were explicitly discussed. One property developer stated that they needed to make a decision in relation to today's system and they did not want to speculate about futurity costs and potential profits. His company had no interest in predicting the future, but had to rely on current facts. Another holding programmer agreed, stating that they could not neglect economic considerations in their conclusion, every bit all investments needed a sound financial basis. A third property developer emphasized that the investment had to contribute to an environmentally sustainable development model, and that the environmental benefits of a DC grid were unproven: because Knowit's investigation results, it was better for the surroundings to optimize PV usage than to invest in a DC grid (Observation, thirty January 2020).

A property developer known to support a microgrid in Sege Park disagreed, stating that a DC grid would do good the environment. With a DC grid, a lower fuse level could exist used, helping lower electricity demand peaks and benefitting both the organization and the surroundings. Another holding programmer was unconvinced, and responded that the DC grid would not do good the surround, but that batteries would. The Knowit consultant interjected that the ecology value of a DC grid was low. Yet another property developer said: "I can pay for an improved environment, merely I don't want to pay for anything that doesn't have any environmental value. I don't think the environmental benefits are big plenty. If this is correct, then the DC grid needs to be profitable, have economical benefits" (Observation, thirty Jan 2020).

The meeting ended with mixed feelings, its being unclear whether they should keep with a DC microgrid, an AC microgrid, or neither. When asked at the next coming together, the nigh pro-microgrid property developer said it seemed as if they would drop the idea. He still favoured the idea, only given the regulations, that time was running out, and that the electricity grid was already nether construction in the expanse, he saw little betoken in continuing to drive the issue (Observation, 12 Mar 2020).

During our interviews with the belongings developers, some of them did assume that the property, not the DSO, owners would own the filigree:

I think it would be more exciting if supplementary solutions, in add-on to district heating, were tried out at a pocket-sized calibration by u.s. builders. The DSO wants general solutions that they tin roll out. They are not every bit inclined to try new things at a small calibration. (Property Developer 10a)

The DSO, in contrast, causeless that it would own the grid. At ane dialogue meeting, a DSO representative said: "The property owners own the electricity in their belongings. In the area, the grid possessor owns the grid" (Observation, 19 Jun 2018).

Some property developers were more hesitant when it came to microgrids and DC solutions:

Nosotros have our property limits and must piece of work co-ordinate to contract. To think that we should endeavour out a new mode is to seize with teeth off more than than we tin chew. I don't think in that location will exist many of these energy solutions – they're too visionary. Nosotros similar to piece of work slowly and in modest steps and stick to the traditional procedure. (Property Programmer 12).

Another holding developer also reflected on how they seemed to end upward with a traditional system and traditional free energy actors:

At that place are quite a lot of rules that forbid united states of america from producing equally much electricity equally we would have liked. They likewise prevent off-filigree solutions. We tend to terminate up with traditional solutions that do not crave coordination [between the builders]. (Property Developer six).

Some belongings developers related the traditional solutions presented to the bourgeois regulations: "The laws put some obstacles in the fashion of evolution. Information technology was also that way earlier with solar free energy" (Belongings Programmer 10b), while others believed the lack of new innovative solutions was related more purely to the DSO's central and ascendant role in the process:

Information technology is practiced that the DSO can showcase [what it has to offer], but not proficient that information technology is the only solution presented. There are much better solutions with geothermal heat and likewise if nosotros could connect our own energy system. (Property Developer 5).

One interviewee from the city of Malmö explained the DSO's office in Sege Park only as well in relation to the city in general:

The city of Malmö has sold the energy system to the DSO, and in that fashion we sold our control over these problems. Previously we, the metropolis, endemic an energy visitor simply we don't anymore. At present we demand to work differently by connecting the belongings developers and the DSO. (Representative the city of Malmö).

The metropolis has no command or power over the DSO or the property developers, but instead needs to piece of work through collaboration and dialogue. For the urban center of Malmö, the most feasible approach is to work with the DSO, which owns both the electricity grid and the district heating arrangement, to achieve the adopted sustainability goals:

One tin can say that the Climate and Recycling Agreement between the city of Malmö, the DSO, and the water and sewage company are part of reaching a joint solution and acting in the same spirit. Information technology does not help that, if we think of something, it is still the DSO that builds the system, so we also take to piece of work preparatively with the DSO. It's about engaging them likewise. Just they are really engaged, so it is great fun. (Representative the urban center of Malmö).

The give-and-take on ownership and motivations is summarized in Fig. 4 beneath.

Discussion and Conclusions

This article has presented how the idea of constructing a microgrid has been on the calendar since the start of the Sege Park project. A microgrid has been investigated more than or less in depth, with the recurring decision that a microgrid is not an pick. It has been seen as financially infeasible and as offering questionable environmental benefits. Some of the property developers accept, however, disputed this and have non given up the idea of a microgrid in Sege Park. Even when they were given the bulletin that it is non currently legally possible, non assisting, and offers no obvious environmental gains, they accept kept returning to the desire to install a microgrid.

In Sege Park, the microgrid investigations and presentations have been technically oriented. Off-grid solutions are typically expensive [48], and when standardized solutions are lacking, the conclusion that a microgrid in Sege Park would be neither economically nor environmentally beneficial is unsurprising. Studying the documentation connected to Sege Park, the consultancy reports and the presentations made during the dialogue meetings, information technology seems every bit though the fundamental actors are locked into centralized solutions beneficial to incumbent actors such as the DSO in this case [49]. Decentralized ownership has been put frontward as an enabler of the transition towards a more renewable energy organisation [50, 51], but in that location are many barriers to such modify.

From a DES perspective, the transition to renewable energy systems tin can be made without any change in buying. The DSO, city, and involved consultants did not consider ownership a primal issue. For them, information technology was instead a non-issue; information technology is being taken for granted that Sege Park should have a centralized system owned by the DSO. This was also the pathway followed by the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate, when it suggested that CECs should non be allowed to own electricity grids.

The thought of developing a CEC in Sege Park was voiced past some of the property developers. They wanted to accept a microgrid, owned and controlled by the property owners, for the purpose of sharing self-produced PV power betwixt themselves.

The two pathways, as seen in Fig. v, DES and CEC, have considerably different implications for how a microgrid in Sege Park should exist assessed, differing in the systems' value, ownership, and societal contribution. If a DES is in focus, it is beneficial to install a PV organisation that tin contribute to the city's main grid during surplus. In this scenario, Sege Park as an area is seen as an of import actor helping to level demand peaks in the city'southward grid and helping to reduce the furnishings of a lack of grid capacity in certain periods. This pathway is seen more equally a transition, where technological change focus on applied science and economy rather than on actors [52]. From a DES perspective, information technology is unprofitable to install a DC grid, because such a grid cannot acquit its own costs. This is also a view articulated by both the CEP and the Swedish Free energy Markets Inspectorate, when it was emphasized that information technology is of import that a CEC does not contribute to "cherry picking", where those who tin beget to build their own networks and avert paying costs related to mutual resources do so. In this way, the grid serves all citizens, and the EU mission of providing clean energy to all citizens can exist realized (Ei R2020:02).

On the other hand, if a CEC is in focus, aspects other than only technical or economic ones are emphasized. From this perspective, local buying by Sege Park residents has inherent values. The feeling of owning the grid together and non needing to rely on a multinational company has value in itself and will help build trust and appointment in the district. This pathway tin exist seen as more transformational, where the procedure itself every bit well every bit the outcome play a office [53]. Furthermore, several property owners saw value in knowing that they were sharing excess electricity from their PV panels directly with neighbours in the expanse, without going through the DSO. This has economic value because they would avert the grid fee and could likely lower their fuse level, leading to a lower tariff. Moreover, sharing with ane'due south neighbours has value in itself; in this transformative vision, a microgrid becomes office of edifice a local community, led past the actors, where residents share many things, including electricity, with one another. This transformative attribute was non considered by the DSO or the city. This led to a state of affairs in which, when a microgrid was beingness investigated, values associated with engagement, the feeling of joint ownership, and existence independent of the bigger filigree were excluded from the assay.

These two parallel pathways coexisted during the planning processes just confronted each other surprisingly seldom. It was kickoff at a meeting in Jan 2020 that the ii pathways were simultaneously in evidence. The consequences of edifice a DES or a CEC were not clearly articulated, however, and no real conclusion was made. Withal, in practise the pathway has already been called: the expanse is under construction and the DSO has connect the expanse to the electrical grid. The physical system will probable influence both the organization and ownership structure of the surface area. Notwithstanding, the laying of the empty conduits in the ground leaves the door open for a future microgrid and alter in the pathway.

In this commodity, we have presented how dialogues around energy planning take taken place in the case of Sege Park and identified two different pathways leading to dissimilar outcomes. In both future research and future planning of local energy systems, values other than just economic and technical ones should exist analysed and considered, since they play a role for the effect. It is important to start a discussion of definitions, purposes, control mechanisms, and ownership early in the planning phase, to avoid lock-in effects and prevent the technical systems first installed when a city district is being developed from determining the possible ownership outcomes of the system. The early planning discussions should also include the aspect of values and desired outcomes. For the futurity, it is important to consider how to transpose the CEP ideas on ECs, including the increase of non-commercial actors on the electricity marketplace and that profits can stay in the community.

Information Availability

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current written report are not publicly bachelor due to confidentiality of information merely are available from the respective writer on reasonable request.

Change history

25 October 2021

It is in the concluding sentence in funding and in acknowledgment where "the Horizon project NEWCOMERS under grant number 837753". It should be grant number 837752.

Abbreviations

CEC:: Denizen energy community
CEP:: "Make clean Energy for all Europeans" parcel
DES:: Distributed energy system
DG:: Distributed generation
DSO:: Distributed arrangement operator
EC:: Energy community
European union:: European union
MG:: Microgrid
PVs:: Photovoltaics
REC:: Renewable energy communities

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Acknowledgements

An early on version of this commodity was presented at the European Association of Social Anthropologists 16th Biennial Briefing, 21 July 2020. Nosotros wish to thank everyone who contributed to and helped to develop the article. The research has received funding from the Kamprad Family Foundation nether the gran number 20182014 and the Horizon project NEWCOMERS under the grant numer 837752.

Funding

Open admission funding provided by Lund Academy. This work was supported by the Kamprad Family unit Foundation project Resistance and Effect with grant number 20182014 and the Horizon project NEWCOMERS under grant number 837752.

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Anna-Riikka Kojonsaari & Jenny Palm

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Kojonsaari, AR., Palm, J. Distributed Energy Systems and Energy Communities Under Negotiation. Technol Econ Smart Grids Sustain Energy half-dozen, 17 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40866-021-00116-9

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Received: 11 January 2021
Accepted: 25 August 2021
Published: fifteen September 2021
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40866-021-00116-9

Keywords

Energy planning process
Distributed energy systems
Energy community
Citizen energy community
Smart filigree

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