On the first of January the swedish paper “Landetsfria” published a lengthy article oncommunity energy in Sweden. It touches on Kalmar Energi’s investment in Nöbble and Törneby solar parks, which was part of the Co2mmunity research. You can find the full article in swedish here.
A finding of the research was, that energy in Sweden is very centralised, meaning the incentives for citizens to intitiate community energy projects are comparatively low. What surprised Henner Busch, a researcher from Lund University, most about the project’s results was how many people get involved in such projects for idealistic reasons.
Yet their advantages are not restricted to climate benefits. Among other things, local communities can reduce their energy costs, create local jobs, strengthen local cohesion, build a more positive identity and, in some countries, receive tax revenues.
You can read more about community energy in Sweden in our handbook.