NEWCOMERS: Comparison of national polycentric settings in the partner countries

This deliverable compares the national polycentric settings of the six partner countries of the NEWCOMERS project, i.e. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The comparison is based on figures from Deliverable 3.1 (D3.1) that described the countries’ characteristics related to polycentric governance, with specific focus on the countries’ socio-technical systems and actors. The country comparisons in this deliverable focus on socioeconomic conditions, technical systems including energy and electricity production and consumption, institutional settings of renewable energy support and actors. The deliverable is the basis for D3.3, which are further discussed factors that hinder or enable the development of energy communities in the six NEWCOMERS countries.

The figures in D3.1 have been updated when possible and are compared to figures of IEA or EU28 averages to enable a broader comparison of the countries’ national characteristics. The figures are based on existing literature, national reports and statistical information, with sources containing information about all six partner countries being prioritized.

The following key takeaway messages from D3.2 can be outlined. The countries’ developments of ECs can be divided into three categories according to their current number of ECs: high (UK, DE); medium (NL, SE); and low (IT, SI). In relation to their population size, UK and NL have the highest relative numbers of ECs, followed by DE and SE and finally SI and IT. The comparisons of the six countries’ socio-economic conditions, technical systems and institutional settings suggest that there is a complex combination of national characteristics that enable polycentric governance and the establishment of ECs. When single characteristics were compared, there were seldom strong correlations between the countries’ relative rankings to one another and their current figures of ECs. These findings of D3.2 provide an interesting basis for D3.3 in discussions of the combination of settings that enable polycentric governance of ECs whilst linking to previous literature on EC development.