Energy sharing within Dutch energy communities: An institutional analysis using Ostrom's design principles

Luc van Summeren from Eindhoven Technical University (ACCU project partner) and his colleagues  explored how institutional arrangements for energy sharing within energy communities can support, or hinder, the governance of electricity as a commons. 

Luc explains which two key questions they addressed: "We wanted to know to what extent do emerging energy‑sharing arrangements in Dutch energy communities align with Ostrom’s design principles for robust commons governance. And the second question was what this means for energy communities, policymakers, suppliers, and system operators as energy sharing becomes more institutionalized."

The paper highlights 5 key points:

1. Energy sharing arrangements should prioritize solidaristic goals rather than market gain if it is to embody principles of commons. This includes participation, ownership and distribution key choices. Policy decisions around technical elements such as distribution keys and allocation models should be cognizant of distributional implications and should not constrain ECs in their ability to pursue their objectives.
2. Enabling sharing with free choice of suppliers should not be obstructed through unfair charges on prosumers or prescriptive design choices which restrict organizational freedom. ECs should consider the autonomy benefits of free supplier choice vs. cooperative self-supply.
3. The provision of real-time and accurate information of production to prosumers is essential to enable any form of energy sharing to take place. Technological linkages such as storage and linking with heat networks can increase efficiency and self-sufficiency of energy sharing.
4. The production side of energy sharing needs to also be considered to ensure local alignment between production and consumption. This includes reviewing spatial planning, renewables subsidies and municipal land governance to remove production-side obstacles to energy sharing.
5. Energy sharing should encourage longer-term thinking about the relative role of state, markets and commons in the energy system from a whole-systems perspective.

Deep dive into the full article here.