Democratising renewable energy provision into the grid in Luxembourg

Renewable energy has become a cornerstone in strategies for sustainable development, as a substitute for fossil fuels and thus a pre-condition for the transition into a low-carbon era. Under the EU2020 policy framework, Luxembourg has committed to increase the share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to 11 % by 2020. To reach this objective, a social and technological transition is needed. A potential key factor in the success of this transition would be the democratisation of the provision of energy into the Luxembourg grid. The peer group report investigates the role that energy cooperatives play in this regard. It compares two renewable energy cooperatives: EquiEnerCoop in Junglinster and TM EnerCoop in Esch-sur-Alzette, identifying strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, taking a point of departure in the concept of prosumerism (self-consumption), it makes recommendations on expanding cooperative activities to the direct selling of electricity to members to increase local value creation. Finally, the report recommends the setting-up of public incentive schemes for the installation of solar panels and prosumer units in apartment blocks.