Renewable Energy Cooperatives as a Stimulating Factor in Household Energy Savings

Energies

MariaT. Bekendam¹  FransH. J. M. Coenen²  Thomas Hoppe³ 

[1]Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioural Science (TSB), Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2, 5037AB Tilburg, The Netherlands

[2]Department of Technology and Governance for Sustainability (CSTM), Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies (IGS), Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Studies (BMS), University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

[3]Organisation and Governance (OG), Department of Multi-Actor Systems (MAS), Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM), Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands

关键词: renewable energy cooperative;    grassroots initiative;    community energy;    energy efficiency;    energy conservation;    energy consumption behavior;    energy savings;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en12071188

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Little is known about how renewable energy cooperatives (REScoops) try to influence energy conservation among households and the resulting impact. In this article the main research question is: What is the predictive value of renewable energy cooperatives on intention to save energy, engagement in energy-saving actions, and self-reported energy conservation by households? A survey was conducted to answer this question. Data analysis involved multivariate and binary logistic regression on data from two cooperatives: Ecopower (Belgium; N = 1000) and Enercoop (France; N = 8290). Results show that in addition to psychological and socio-demographic variables, REScoop items modestly contribute to the explained variation in engagement in energy-saving actions and reported energy conservation. At Enercoop 18.2% of the respondents indicated that their cooperative contributed to household energy savings; for Ecopower this figure was 36.9%. Moreover, at Enercoop, 38.7% of the respondents reported consuming less energy since obtaining cooperative membership; at Ecopower this was 64.7%. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

【 授权许可】

Unknown