Seminarreihe  /  16. Juli 2020, 15:00

Consumer stock ownership plans – Implications of (co-)ownership for RE Clusters, Energy Efficiency and Inclusion

Am 16. Juli 2020 ist Prof. Dr. iur. Jens Lowitzsch im Rahmen der Seminarreihe virtuell zu Gast am Fraunhofer ISI. Der Vortrag »Consumer stock ownership plans – Implications of (co-)ownership for RE Clusters, Energy Efficiency and Inclusion« beginnt um 15 Uhr.

Die ISI-Seminarreihe bündelt spannende Themen aus dem Portfolio des Fraunhofer ISI und bietet in regelmäßigen Abständen Gelegenheit zu Diskussion und Austausch.

Abstract

The 2018 revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II - to be transposed into national law by June 2021) defines »renewable energy communities« (RECs), introduces a new governance model and energy sharing. It also provides an »enabling framework« to put RECs on an equal footing with other market players, to promote and facilitate their development. I argue that RECs and »RE clusters« – comprising different comple-mentary energy sources, flexibility, various actors and bi-directional energy flows – are socio-technical mirrors of the same concept needed for a successful energy transition.

The seminar introduces consumer stock ownership plans (CSOPs) as the prototype busi-ness model for RECs. Based on a dataset of 67 best-practice cases, the importance of flex-ible business models including heterogeneous co-investors is emphasized for meeting the requirements of the RED II governance model. CSOPs – designed to facilitate scala-ble investments in utilities – also facilitateco-investments by municipalities, SMEs, plant engineers and energy suppliers. As a low-threshold financing method, they enable especially low-income households, to invest in renewable projects. CSOPs reduce transaction costs and enable consumers to acquire productive capital. Recommendations are made for the RED II transposition and future research outlined.

Biografie

Prof. Dr. iur. Jens Lowitzsch
Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät
Kelso Stiftungsprofessur für Rechtsvergleichung, osteuropäisches Wirtschaftsrecht und europäische Rechtspolitik

Jens Lowitzsch holds the Kelso Professorship of Comparative Law, East European Business Law and European Legal Policy at Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and directs the Inter-University Centre (Viadrina, Freie Universität Berlin, Sveučilište u Splitu and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne). His main fields of expertise are employee and consumer financial participation, energy law, privatisation, insolvency law, European Law and legal policy, distributive justice, and the renewal of the European welfare state.

Dr. Lowitzsch is the coordinator of the HORIZON 2020 project »SCORE – Supporting Consumer Co-Ownership in Renewable Energies« (CSA 2018-2021, see https://www.score-h2020.eu). He edited the book »Energy Transition – Financing Consumer Ownership in Renewables – 18 country studies and a comparative analysis« published in January 2019 by Palgrave/McMillan.