743 citizen cooperatives: Europe builds its democratic energy network

Who should own the solar panels on rooftops and the wind turbines in fields? Financial markets, or the residents who live nearby?

Since 2013, REScoop.eu — the European federation of citizen energy communities — has been organising a concrete answer to this question. Its network today counts 743 member organisations across more than 28 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.

These energy cooperatives operate on a simple principle: citizens buy shares in a local renewable energy installation — a wind farm, a community solar plant, a heat network — and receive in return a share of the revenues or a reduction on their electricity bill. Governance is democratic: one person, one vote.

This model simultaneously solves several problems. The revenues from the energy transition stay rooted in local communities rather than distant investor portfolios. Citizens gain a direct stake in the success of the transition. And decisions about the location, scale and distribution of benefits are made collectively.

743 cooperatives, tens of thousands of members. The energy transition can be democratic — and in some places, it already is.

Further reading: The Energy Transition: The Curve That Changes Everything