This project provides an evidence base of how community groups are responding to opportunities for Community Led DSR and Collective Self-Consumption.
Social entrepreneurship at the grid edge: understanding the opportunities for community-led DSR and collective self-consumption
Demand-side response and collective self-consumption can match local demand-to-supply, opening up opportunities for more distributed renewable electricity generation. Drawing on place-based entrepreneurship theory and critical infrastructure studies, this project provides an evidence base of how community groups are responding to such opportunities appearing ‘at the grid edge’. We compare two national contexts: the Netherlands where there is regulatory support for community-led innovation, and the UK where there is less support. We then work with diverse community groups in Newham to co-design collective self-consumption projects that contribute to Newham’s climate strategy and generate local value.
What we are asking
- What evidence is there of regulation and policy instruments affecting the speed and scale of deployment, the ambition, and the impacts of community projects targeting demand flexibility and collective self-consumption?
- How are community energy groups finding and developing these types of opportunities in urban environments?
- How can locally valued outcomes (e.g. social cohesion, poverty reduction, wellbeing, GHG emissions reduction) be achieved by urban community groups through demand flexibility and collective self-consumption?
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