Introduction
To catalyse the energy transition, there is a need to broaden the commonly adopted strictly top-down approach, by embracing and fostering the roles that local government, entrepreneurs and citizens can play together (Allen et al., 2012) (Hargreaves et al., 2013) (Klösters et al., 2020). In the Netherlands, numerous local grassroot energy initiatives have emerged with the goal of accelerating the local energy transition (Rotmans, 2011). There has been an enormous increase in the number of LEIs over the last seven years (HIER; RVO, 2021). In 2020, there were a total of 623 LEIs in almost every municipality in the Netherlands. Specifically, LEIs are defined as: "A group of citizens who collectively, with the intention of collaborating on making the local energy supply more sustainable and taking initiatives to that end. This includes activities aimed at energy generation, energy conservation, energy supply, collective purchasing or commissioning and other energy-related activities. The collective focuses on its own living environment and community (neighbourhood, village, city or region) and combines energy goals with social, societal and economic goals." (HIER; RVO, 2021)
In previous research conducted by the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), insight was gained into the role of local initiatives in the energy transition, and the steps they go through when carrying out their activities (Klösters et al., 2020). They focused on ten LEIs spread over different municipalities in the Netherlands. Various success factors and barriers that arose during this process have been formulated. A large number of these barriers relate to the role of the municipality in facilitating the activities of the local initiatives. Examples vary from barriers in legislation and regulations to diverging interests between local initiatives and the municipality.
Despite the growth in the number of LEIs, the impact of these collectives on the national and international climate objectives is still limited (Wiekens & Germes, 2020). LEIs and top-down energy planning procedures rarely align. The practical studies that are mentioned within the literature review on LEIs, show that the role of the municipality in facilitating LEIs is often dominant and top-down oriented (Klösters et al., 2020; van der Windt et al., 2021). However, according to Sabatier & Mazmanian (2005), a more balanced approach, taking into account the needs, interests, but also the barriers in the relationship between local energy initiatives (LEIs) and municipalities could accelerate citizen engagement and result in more successful local energy transition projects.
This study aims at gaining insights into how a more balanced approach of top-down and bottom-up processes can be achieved within the context of energy transition, by investigating the interests, barriers and expectations of the Groningen LEIs.
The case study area of this study is the Groningen municipality, which is located in the North of the Netherlands. Groningen is one of the two lighthouse cities participating at the Making City Horizon 2020 research program, in the context of which this study has been conducted. The various districts of Groningen are characterized by different stages of energy transition, as well as by a variety on the ways with which citizen engagement is approached. In some districts, LEIs have been formulated by residents, while in other districts they have been established and facilitated by the municipality. It is interesting to notice that usually the vision and the interests of these LEIs do not exclusively revolve around the theme of energy transition, but are broader. For instance, they usually relate to enhancing the overall well-being and the quality of life of the local residents, or making the district more sustainable. Then, energy transition usually constitutes an important aspect within this broader frame of interests and ambitions. Finally, the variety among the districts in terms of sociodemographics and characteristics of the built environment implies a different set of challenges and needs within the context of energy transition, and thus the need for different approaches on encouraging citizen engagement and supporting a local LEI.
In the following, the methodology that has been followed in this study is described, the results are then discussed and conclusions in the form of recommendations are drawn.
Methods
Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted between October 2021 and January 2022. These interviews involved a member of the municipality of Groningen, a representative of the local energy intermediary Grunneger Power, and representatives from four Local Energy Initiatives (LEIs). A graduating student from the multidisciplinary Master of Science program ‘Energy for Society’ at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, the Netherlands, conducted the interviews under the supervision of the co-authors.
During this study, representatives of Local Energy Initiatives (LEIs) with diverse profiles, including various levels of maturity, years of existence, scopes of interest, and types of key activities, were interviewed. All the LEIs were active in the city of Groningen. The interviewed representatives were highly engaged and provided valuable insights into how their respective LEIs interact with local society and the municipality. During the interviews, the needs and expectations gap between the LEIs and the municipality of Groningen regarding the LEIs role within the local energy transition context were discussed. Furthermore, potential solutions for bridging that gap have been explored.
Each interview lasted approximately one hour and was conducted in Dutch, except for the interview with the municipality representative, which was conducted in English. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the interviews were conducted online via Microsoft Teams. The sessions were recorded and transcribed using the transcription tool Sonix.ai1. The collected data were then anonymized, and any transcription errors were corrected. The transcripts are available on the DataverseNL data repository (Psarra, 2024).
Data analysis
The collected data have been analysed with the thematic analysis method, by using the ATLAS.ti (version 7) qualitative data analysis tool2. First, open coding was performed (data being marked and labelled with a summary name), resulting in a list of codes. Next, code clusters emerged, by implementing axial coding. Then, the underlying connections and patterns were established in the form of five themes in line with the step-by-step method identified by Braun and Clarke (2006).
Results
Need for professional support
Since LEIs consist of volunteers of varying degree of knowledge and experience, there is a great demand for professional support on both organizational and practical levels. A member of the city council mentioned in the interview:
“But citizens don't have the power or the time or expertise to do collective projects. And they actually need some support from the municipality or from another party like, well, could also be academia or a party like Grunneger Power to help to develop those ideas. The citizens are waiting for, well, either more guidance from the municipality or from the country also. I mean, it's not the municipality, it's also the national government who is lagging behind with legislation. But basically, they [the citizens] are waiting for somebody higher up and higher up is waiting for citizens to take their own initiative, basically.”
Especially in their initial phase, most LEIs seem to struggle with organizational and practical matters. One of the LEIs states:
“To stimulate initiatives, it would be very nice if there is already some kind of plan or some kind of signpost, a route plan like: ‘If you are going to set up an initiative, you have to take this, this and this into account, a kind of manual for local initiatives”.
Some LEIs indicate that there is a need for a facilitating party, such as Grunneger Power, Groninger Milieufederatie and GrEK, with experience in supporting other initiatives that have encountered similar problems in the past. For instance, GrEK already gains a lot of experience within the role of the intermediary, offering lots of support to its members. Specifically, GrEK is more orientated towards the supply of support to initiatives in the province of Groningen, while Grunneger Power mostly focuses on the LEIs of the city of Groningen. Thus, it is also reasonable that the LEI member who has been interviewed has not been aware of the support and the courses that GrEK currently offers. In addition to organizational knowledge, support regarding practical activities is also deemed to be necessary. Furthermore, the need for technical support (such as contractors and installers) is expressed, as well as the need for a fixed municipal representative with whom a LEI can build a long-term relationship of trust. Finally, in addition to the aspects of professional support mentioned above, funding remains one of the basic needs of LEIs.
Mutual ignorance creates mismatched expectations
The LEIs indicate that they need a suitable project leader from the municipality who is aware of their vision and with whom they can collaborate. Both parties have expectations, which are to a great extent based on assumptions. Indicatively, municipalities set certain goals, for example being CO2 neutral by 2035, and they want to achieve these goals within a particular timeframe. On the other hand, LEIs often aim to trigger citizen engagement on a district level and are less focused on particular timeframes:
The mutual ignorance between the municipality and LEIs causes mismatched expectations, which appear to slow down the local energy transition process. On the one hand, LEIs expect the municipality to take the lead by giving them a clear role within the energy transition process, and by actively facilitating them. On the other hand, the municipality seems to have a wait-and-see attitude towards LEIs and to expect them to become more professional before concrete responsibilities are delegated to them regarding local energy transition. Indicatively, a representative of the municipality explained in his interview:
“If they have specific questions, then we will help them with that. And perhaps because when it comes to the infrastructure, they cannot do that by themselves. Yeah, and then it depends on when good time to do so and when they want to develop solar initiatives, they can better work together with Grunneger Power and the municipality or with some other corporation.”
Need for clarity
It is important for LEIs to have a clear picture about which tasks and responsibilities are allocated to them. For instance, LEIs indicate that there is a need for (timely) clarity about whether their project ideas are considered feasible and realistic by the municipality. It is also indicated that there is a need for a more detailed municipal plan for the various districts. This would create more clarity about how the LEIs can contribute to the municipal goals for the corresponding districts. LEIs aim at being regarded as a serious partner within the local energy transition context, for instance by participating in the formulation of the municipal district energy plans. A LEI representative mentioned in her interview:
“I mean, does this mean that we as citizens should start our own plans? And for example, if we want to make a local heat storage, that we as citizens have to do this? Or does it mean that there is still a possibility that we can get support from the municipality for doing this?”
The desired degree of professionalization
The desired degree of professionalization varies among the LEIs. Several LEIs express the ambition of becoming more professional, by indicating aspects such as 'public relationships', 'a newsletter' or 'the opportunity to train someone internally'. However, there are also several LEIs emphasizing their volunteer nature, whilst some of those observe an implicit requirement from the municipality for them to professionalise.
"We just do it as volunteers, little by little in the evenings, a little bit at the end of the working day...In our group, everyone works full-time, or almost full-time, so yes, we have sometimes better things to do, so that also makes it very vulnerable."
On the other hand, a representative of the municipality explained:
“Actually, because we have all sorts of initiatives and corporations dealing with all sorts of topics, and some are more happy by not having the municipality involved that much. Some really don't know what to do at some point, so there is not really something to discuss about. But at a certain moment when there is something that they want to discuss or need to discuss, then it is something that they should reach out and say, OK, now we are at this moment and now we should really talk about how to make this into a more solid plan.”
The importance of communication and collaboration
A lack of sufficient communication between LEIs and the municipality received also special attention during the interview sessions. For instance, the need for a platform on which information on district level about e.g. energy consumption data would be quite helpful for LEIs.
Additionally, there is also a need for communication and collaboration among the various LEIs, as they might often be engaged in similar activities or face similar problems (e.g. during the initial phase). In the Customer Journey of Collectives research, TNO (2020) also refers to insufficient knowledge sharing between LEIs. One of the interviewed LEIs indicates:
“And on the other hand, I think, if there is a neighbourhood initiative, to facilitate that in such a way that neighbourhood initiatives come into contact with each other to learn from each other, to avoid having to reinvent the wheel.”
Conclusions
To bridge the gap, in the context of professional support, the following recommendations were formulated. First, the development of a professional support framework for LEIs by the municipality, in which the role of intermediary organizations is specified. In particular, regional or city scale energy co-operatives or organizations (such as “Energie van Ons” and “GREK”), which can play an intermediary role between the municipality and grassroot initiatives, can be beneficial for achieving a balance between top-down and bottom-up processes in local energy transition. Various LEIs profiles can be considered, to allow for flexibility regarding the content and the ways that this support is provided. In addition, the creation of a clear municipal point of contact for LEIs is also important.
Furthermore, it is essential that both municipality and LEIs mutually understand their roles within the local energy transition context. LEIs should be able to clearly communicate their vision and mission to the municipality. Intermediaries can assist in shaping these ambitions, as well as the subsequent needs with regard to the municipal support. Additionally, a mutually developed roadmap specifying the citizen engagement approach and the role of the corresponding LEI can be incorporated in the district energy plans that are formulated by the municipality (Gemeente Groningen, 2020). Specifically, local district energy plans, characterised by a place-based approach, can constitute the basis for a mutually developed roadmap, which can be tailor-made, according to the capacity and the degree of available expertise within the corresponding citizen initiatives, and the specific socio-spatial background of the particular districts.
Moreover, mutual agreements between each LEI and the municipality about the degree of professionalization expected by them, in relation to their vision and mission, can be very beneficial. Finally, the collaboration and knowledge sharing between LEIs, e.g. via structural consultations among various LEIs representatives, the municipality and intermediary organisations, should be encouraged.
Ethics and consent
The Hanze Ethical Advice Committee (HEAC) of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences has provided their approval to the retrospective review request for this research study. The committee used the Assessment Criteria Ethical Advice Committee of Hanze University of Applied Sciences. They approved the review request on the 7th of February of 2024. The approval number is: heac.T2023.050. The reason for requesting the review retrospectively was that it is a non-medical, low-risk research study.
Before starting each interview, we obtained oral consent from participants to record the interview and publish the findings. To obtain Ethical approval, we needed to submit written consents as well. Therefore, we contacted the participants afterward to sign the written consent forms.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the reviewers for their careful reading of this report and their insightful comments and suggestions. Additionally, we would like to thank the members of the LEIs and the municipality of Groningen who participated in the semi-structured interviews.
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