Renewable energy cooperative
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A renewable energy cooperative (aka RE co-op; REC) is a decentralized, non-governmental initiative of local communities and citizens to promote the production and consumption of renewable energy.[1] It is formed by a group of community members that share a common long-term goal for a sustainable future of energy and work to advance the transition through active citizenship involvement.[2] In this way, the citizens are prosumers: they act as both producers and consumers in an attempt to democratize energy supplies by shifting away from relying on large companies.[3]
Like other cooperatives, RE co-ops follow the basic principles set by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, economic participation by members, autonomy and independence, education and training, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for the community.[2] Among RE co-ops, there are subgroups categorized by the type of energy source (e.g. biomass energy, wind energy, solar energy, etc.), added value (e.g. consumption, production, distribution, trading, etc.), and the type of business model (e.g. local group, regional, fully integrated, network, etc.).[1] Renewable energy cooperatives are currently most popular in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and northern European countries such as Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.[4]