E-Library

Websites related to energy justice/energy citizenship/energy communities

Climate Litigation Database: https://climaterightsdatabase.com/

This database collects litigation on human rights and climate change worldwide. It is maintained by the researchers of the Climate Rights and Remedies (CRRP) project at the University of Zurich. Project link: https://www.climaterights.uzh.ch/en.html

Energy prosumers: https://energy-democracy.org/

“Prosumer”-focused advocacy group. Transition goal is from passive consumers of centrally, large-scale generated electricity and heat to more active players. House owners or tenants in a multi-unit dwellings – all consumers dispose of a portfolio of valuable goods enabling and empowering them to participate and collaborate on the energy market. Big data focus.

Energy Citizenship and Energy Communities: https://ec2project.eu/

Law, economics and psychology research for decentralised energy supply and demand management: new energy systems, participatory governance. Gathering insights from the fields of law, economics and psychology, EC² will provide answers on how to facilitate and strengthen energy citizenship.

European Commission Energy Communities Repository: https://energy-communities-repository.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Launched in April 2022, the objective of the Energy Communities Repository is to assist local actors and citizens willing to set up a Citizens Energy Community or a Renewable Energy Community in urban areas through technical and administrative advice, and encourage their development.

European Commission Rural Energy Community Advisory Hub: https://rural-energy-community-hub.ec.europa.eu/index_en

The Rural Energy Community Advisory Hub was launched in June 2022. It focuses on assisting citizens, rural actors and local authorities in setting up a Citizen Energy Community or Renewable Energy Community in rural areas through technical and administrative advice, and encourage their development.

GRETA Project: https://projectgreta.eu/project/

GRETA studies the social side of the energy transition. We want to understand how energy citizenship works in different contexts and geographical levels. What kind of knowledge, social structures, technology or financial resources are needed to make an active energy citizen?

Proactive Strategies and Policies for Energy Citizenship Transformation: https://www.energyprospects.eu/about-the-project/about-the-project/

EnergyPROSPECTS (PROactive Strategies and Policies for Energy Citizenship Transformation) will work with a critical understanding of energy citizenship that is grounded in state-of-the-art Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) insights. EnergyPROSPECTS aims to develop a broad understanding of energy citizenship as a policy concept, a sociotechnical imaginary, a knowing-of-governance, i.e. a social construction of desirable/normal civic agency in future energy systems.

Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED): https://www.tuedglobal.org/

Website of unions currently participating in TUED represent workers in 35 countries and regions with a good selection of working papers

Sustainable Economies Law Center – Energy Democracy: https://www.theselc.org/energy_democracy

From 2013 to 2021, Sustainable Economies Law Center focused on legal support and policies to build democratic community-owned renewable energy projects. Prior work sought to build pockets of energy democracy within a field dominated by investor-owned utilities and profit-extracting energy companies. Now this center is going beyond the narrow strategy of developing cooperative solar projects, and is exploring bigger possibilities for climate and economic justice.

[GCRF] Community Energy and the Sustainable Energy Transition in Ethiopia, Malawi & Mozambique: https://cesetproject.com/community-energy-systems-and-sustainable-energy-transitions-ethiopia-malawi-and-mozambique-ceset

CESET is a three-year research programme exploring how communities can support just energy transitions in East Africa. The project focuses on diversity: diversity of models of community energy and diversity of communities that engage in renewable energy projects.

Open-Access Articles

1. Wahlund & Palm (2022) The role of energy democracy and energy citizenship for participatory energy transitions: A comprehensive review. Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 87, pp. 102482, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621005697?via%3Dihub

2. Żuk & Żuk (2022) Civic energy and the traditions of the idea of civil society: Dilemmas, frames and discussions. Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 92, pp. 102798, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102798

3. Ramirez (2021) Governance in energy democracy for Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and opportunities for partnerships at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Journal of International Business Policy, Vol. 4, pp. 119 – 135, https://doi.org/10.1057/s42214-020-00077-3

4. Niclas Hällström (2021) A Global Just Transition From Fossil Fuels Concept Note. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5dd3cc5b7fd99372fbb04561/t/6183c251e4c9b637d921fb38/1636024916489/FFNPT+Pillar+III+Concept+note+.pdf

5. Ambole et al (2021) A Review of Energy Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa as a Transition Pathway to Energy Democracy. Sustainability, Vol. 13, Issue 4, pp. 2128, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2128

6. Clulow, Z.; Reiner, D.M. (2022) Democracy, Economic Development and Low-Carbon Energy: When and Why Does Democratization Promote Energy Transition? Sustainability, 14, 13213. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013213

7. Okpanachi, Ambe-Uva & Fassih (2022) Energy regime reconfiguration and just transitions in the Global South: Lessons for West Africa from Morocco’s comparative experience. Futures, 139, pp. 102934, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2022.102934

8. Butu et al (2021) Leveraging community based organizations and fintech to improve small-scale renewable energy financing in sub-Saharan Africa. Energy Research & Social Science, 73, pp. 101949, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.101949

9. Abe (2022) Between control and confrontation: The pitfalls and potential of corporate-community participatory development in Africa’s energy and extractive industries. The Extractive Industries and Society, 11, pp. 101095, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2022.101095

10. Antwi & Ley (2021) Renewable energy project implementation in Africa: Ensuring sustainability through community acceptability. Scientific African, Vol. 11, pp. e00679, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00679

11. Ganda (2020) The influence of corruption on environmental sustainability in the developing economies of Southern Africa. Heliyon, Vol. 6, Issue 7, pp. e04387, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04387

12. Sovacool (2021) Clean, low-carbon but corrupt? Examining corruption risks and solutions for the renewable energy sector in Mexico, Malaysia, Kenya and South Africa. Energy Strategy Reviews, 38, pp. 100723, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2021.100723

13. Ikejemba & Schuur (2020) The empirical failures of attaining the societal benefits of renewable energy development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Renewable Energy, Vol. 162, pp. 1490 – 1498, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.08.052