Citizen participation in local energy communities: A meta and weight analysis

Given their strong potential to mitigate environmental problems and contribute to the decarbonization of energy systems, researchers and practitioners are demonstrating increasing interest in local energy communities. Accordingly, the current study presents a meta and weight analysis that combines the quantitative results of previous research on the topic of citizen participation in these communities, revealing the main tendencies, theories, and constructs evident in the field. Through an analysis of 24 articles, the results identify the theory of planned behavior as the leading ground theory, together with important dimensions such as trust, personal characteristics, return on investment, and pro-environmental and altruistic factors. The findings of this work can support future researchers and practitioners in developing strategies to increase the creation of local energy communities.