Organisations as electricity agents: identifying success factors to become a prosumer

Abstract

Prosuming combines energy production and consumption on a decentralised level and can contribute to expanding renewable energies and integrating intermittent energy in a decarbonised energy system. This is only one way that conventional electricity consumers can become active agents in electricity systems, but the current literature lacks a comprehensive typology of this field. Furthermore, the literature on prosuming focuses on households and largely neglects organisations. Addressing these two gaps in the literature, this paper first suggests a typology of eight archetypes that encompass electricity production, demand management, and storage as dimensions. Second, it maps the decision-making process for prosuming infrastructure in small and medium-sized organisations based on 14 in-depth interviews from Germany. To better understand the implementation processes of prosuming infrastructure and to identify critical success factors for organisations to become active electricity agents, it outlines a comprehensive collection of motives, drivers and barriers that are shaped by the organisational context and play a significant role when organisations become energy prosumers.

Organisations as electricity agents: identifying success factors to become a prosumer