Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria
The revised EU Renewable Energy Directive first introduced renewable energy communities into the EU policy framework and requires Member States to implement a support framework for them. Given the broad scientific evidence showing the benefits of community energy for a just energy transition, a succ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/15/4693 |
| _version_ | 1827686540730433536 |
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| author | Deyana Spasova Sibylle Braungardt |
| author_facet | Deyana Spasova Sibylle Braungardt |
| author_sort | Deyana Spasova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The revised EU Renewable Energy Directive first introduced renewable energy communities into the EU policy framework and requires Member States to implement a support framework for them. Given the broad scientific evidence showing the benefits of community energy for a just energy transition, a successful implementation across all Member States is essential. However, the preconditions for developing support frameworks differ largely between EU nations, as some countries have long-term experiences with supporting renewable energy communities (i.e., Germany and Denmark), while in other Member States, renewable energy communities are notably non-existent (i.e., Eastern European nations). With the purpose of providing scientific evidence to support the development of a policy framework for renewable energy communities in Eastern European Member States, this article compares key factors for the development of such communities in Bulgaria and Germany, combining a literature review with expert interviews to collect primary information on Bulgaria. A country analysis puts these factors into the contexts of both countries, while a cross-country comparison demonstrates that there are significant gaps in the support framework of Bulgaria, although these gaps are, to a lesser extent, also present in Germany. We discuss these shortcomings, derive policy recommendations and identify further research needs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:16:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e56938a2634c470b82ad749f3b92a04a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:16:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e56938a2634c470b82ad749f3b92a04a2023-11-22T05:36:44ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-08-011415469310.3390/en14154693Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and BulgariaDeyana Spasova0Sibylle Braungardt1Ecologic Institute, Pfalzburger Str. 43/44, 10717 Berlin, GermanyÖko-Institut e.V., Merzhauser Str. 173, 79100 Freiburg, GermanyThe revised EU Renewable Energy Directive first introduced renewable energy communities into the EU policy framework and requires Member States to implement a support framework for them. Given the broad scientific evidence showing the benefits of community energy for a just energy transition, a successful implementation across all Member States is essential. However, the preconditions for developing support frameworks differ largely between EU nations, as some countries have long-term experiences with supporting renewable energy communities (i.e., Germany and Denmark), while in other Member States, renewable energy communities are notably non-existent (i.e., Eastern European nations). With the purpose of providing scientific evidence to support the development of a policy framework for renewable energy communities in Eastern European Member States, this article compares key factors for the development of such communities in Bulgaria and Germany, combining a literature review with expert interviews to collect primary information on Bulgaria. A country analysis puts these factors into the contexts of both countries, while a cross-country comparison demonstrates that there are significant gaps in the support framework of Bulgaria, although these gaps are, to a lesser extent, also present in Germany. We discuss these shortcomings, derive policy recommendations and identify further research needs.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/15/4693renewable energy communitiesenergy transitionBulgariaGermanycommunity energyEU |
| spellingShingle | Deyana Spasova Sibylle Braungardt Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria Energies renewable energy communities energy transition Bulgaria Germany community energy EU |
| title | Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria |
| title_full | Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria |
| title_fullStr | Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria |
| title_short | Building a Common Support Framework in Differing Realities—Conditions for Renewable Energy Communities in Germany and Bulgaria |
| title_sort | building a common support framework in differing realities conditions for renewable energy communities in germany and bulgaria |
| topic | renewable energy communities energy transition Bulgaria Germany community energy EU |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/15/4693 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT deyanaspasova buildingacommonsupportframeworkindifferingrealitiesconditionsforrenewableenergycommunitiesingermanyandbulgaria AT sibyllebraungardt buildingacommonsupportframeworkindifferingrealitiesconditionsforrenewableenergycommunitiesingermanyandbulgaria |