What does a desirable energy future look like for prosumer business models?

The Horizon 2020 PROSEU project provides insights into the process of mainstreaming renewable energy prosumerism across Europe. To this end, it among others investigates issues related to finance and business models, policy and governance as well as technology.

To support policy-makers in the process known as “transposition” of  EU-level legislation in the area of self-consumption as a right and on the protection of renewable energy communities and market disincentives, and to increase the understanding of energy initiatives and businesses of what is at stake, PROSEU will organise a series of international workshops.

The first workshop will discuss the future of business models for prosumerism - actors who both produce and consume renewable energy. Organised by PROSEU project partners Leuphana University Lüneburg, University of Leeds and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT - Erasmus University), it will take place on 24-25 March 2020 in Lüneburg, Germany.

As subsidy regimes for prosumers are in decline across Europe, prosumers are looking to new business models for the economic viability of projects. The PROSEU project identified two dominant trends in this regard: Prosumers seeking to trade energy at a local level, versus smart, large-scale and networked distributed energy assets. While the first trend sees local and community actors in the driver's seat, the second trend suggests an increased role for technology firms, aggregators and energy suppliers. The aim of this first workshop is to build a roadmap for 2030 on overcoming crucial tensions for prosumer business models. In addition, we anticipate on how to accordingly link actions to the implementation process of the Renewable Energy Directive legislation, which is taking shape across Europe in 2020.

Questions that will be discussed include: What does a desirable energy future look like for prosumer business models? Which conditions need to change in order to get there? How can prosumer business models be integrated into European energy systems?

For more information about the workshop series, please click here.

Image copyright: Central building of the Leuphana University Lüneburg (Wikimedia) by "Gerrit Gutzeit"