Municipalities’ ecosystem roles in different energy communities

Abstract

Municipalities are in a crucial position regarding initiating and implementing energy communities. Existing literature acknowledges their role but focuses on production-based energy cooperatives, and there is a need for a more comprehensive view of potential ecosystem roles. This study uses the ecosystem approach to present an overview of different energy communities and municipalities’ roles in them. Mostly, the municipalities have a supportive and reactive role, but especially in more complex settings like microgrids, they also can have a proactive ecosystem leadership role in coordinating and facilitating energy communities.