Olivia Sælthun Haugsbø

This master's thesis has examined the factors that dictate energy structures in Europe at different scales.

The emergence of energy communities is becoming increasingly prevalent in the European energy landscape and these community projects are recognised as important actors in the renewable energy transition. As a form of local energy projects, energy communities are expected to contribute to positive outcomes for the local communities and provide energy justice. However, there is limited evidence on how energy communities contribute to the renewable energy transition and provide energy justice. This thesis explores the role of energy communities in the European renewable energy transition and whether energy communities contribute to energy justice.  

The analytical frameworks of multi-level perspective and energy justice are adopted to address the two questions of (i) what factors at the local, national and international levels facilitate and hinder the establishment of energy communities and (ii) in what way are the different tenets of energy justice reflected and incorporated in energy community projects?  

The study adopts a mixed method, using online surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted both online and in-person in selected countries and energy communities. The analysis draws on data gathered from local energy communities and facilitating organisations across 18 European countries, as well as two internationally operating organisations. 

The main findings reveal how the importance of various factors at different levels varies across European countries and how regional differences within countries need to be accounted for. National enabling frameworks were identified as important, but their impact varies considerably across European countries, where the respondents from the UK expressed the highest level of dissatisfaction with their national frameworks. In terms of energy justice, procedural justice was the most successfully implemented tenet of justice, reflecting fair and transparent decision-making processes within energy communities. However, recognition justice, particularly in terms of representation and engagement with marginalised households, remains an area requiring improvement in energy community projects.