TY - GEN
T1 - Renewable Energy Communities in Africa
T2 - 14th IFIP WG 5.5/SOCOLNET Advanced Doctoral Conference on Computing, Electrical and Industrial Systems, DoCEIS 2023
AU - Atinsia, Mathew Anabadongo
AU - Adu-Kankam, Kankam O.
AU - Diawuo, Felix Amankwah
N1 - Funding Information:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB%2F00066%2F2020/PT#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP%2F00066%2F2020/PT#
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - It is claimed that the success of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) depends on sound policies that provide security to community investments and investors, as well as reliable sources of funding, good community organization, and how the community is governed. These elements facilitate the participation of the citizen and are key to the growth and survivability of any REC. It is further claimed that sound policies can drive novel and viable business models, innovative financing and remuneration schemes, the adoption of smart technologies, social acceptance, and, most importantly, increase in citizen participation. In Africa today, RECs are in their infancy stages of development and require immense attention. To better understand and characterize how RECs in Africa are developing, a systematic literature review is carried out on five selected cases located in South Africa, Malawi, Cameroun, Togo, and the Ivory Coast. The study aims to analyze how governmental policies, organizational structures, types of governance, ownership schemes, sources of funding, the composition of the communities, and types of renewable energy resources (RER), are facilitating the development of these RECs in Africa. How value is created and shared amongst members of the community is also considered. The findings of this study show that RECs in Africa are faced with the challenges, of inadequate governmental policy frameworks, unsustainable financial models, and low community ownership, and the dominant RERs are solar and biogas. Other findings include low levels of citizen engagement, participation, and knowledge about RECs.
AB - It is claimed that the success of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) depends on sound policies that provide security to community investments and investors, as well as reliable sources of funding, good community organization, and how the community is governed. These elements facilitate the participation of the citizen and are key to the growth and survivability of any REC. It is further claimed that sound policies can drive novel and viable business models, innovative financing and remuneration schemes, the adoption of smart technologies, social acceptance, and, most importantly, increase in citizen participation. In Africa today, RECs are in their infancy stages of development and require immense attention. To better understand and characterize how RECs in Africa are developing, a systematic literature review is carried out on five selected cases located in South Africa, Malawi, Cameroun, Togo, and the Ivory Coast. The study aims to analyze how governmental policies, organizational structures, types of governance, ownership schemes, sources of funding, the composition of the communities, and types of renewable energy resources (RER), are facilitating the development of these RECs in Africa. How value is created and shared amongst members of the community is also considered. The findings of this study show that RECs in Africa are faced with the challenges, of inadequate governmental policy frameworks, unsustainable financial models, and low community ownership, and the dominant RERs are solar and biogas. Other findings include low levels of citizen engagement, participation, and knowledge about RECs.
KW - Community Organization
KW - Financial Model
KW - Policy Framework
KW - Renewable Energy Communities
KW - Resource Ownership
KW - Sources of Funding
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164971024&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-36007-7_4
DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-36007-7_4
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85164971024
SN - 978-3-031-36006-0
T3 - IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
SP - 52
EP - 64
BT - Technological Innovation for Connected Cyber Physical Spaces
A2 - Camarinha-Matos, Luís M.
A2 - Ferrada, Filipa
PB - Springer
CY - Cham
Y2 - 5 July 2023 through 7 July 2023
ER -