Prosumers role in a changing electricity system: the non-individual prosumer perspective

Abstract

The transition into a clean energy market is opening up new possibilities for traditional electricity consumers. The conventional centralized production structure is shifting towards a distributed one, with micro-producers acquiring a decisive role as active stakeholders in the system, consuming and producing renewable electricity. In Sweden, these so-called prosumers, are mostly represented by non-individual organisations. Understanding the motives that encourage them to install solar PV panels and the barriers encountered in the process, is needed to provide solutions that will be able to cope with a significant penetration of renewable electricity levels into the energy mix. This project strives to cover this gap by deploying a systems approach to build two models based on a System Dynamics (SD) method, where the factors affecting non-individual adopters of PV panels in the decision-making process, and the underlying complexities and interrelations inherent to it are uncovered. To build up the model, an iterative process has been followed, based on a mixed-methods approach, used to filter and sort out the information extracted from a set of interviews conducted with prosumer organisations. In turn, these findings have contributed to the definition of the variables and the causal loop relationships that govern the Causal Loop Diagram and Stock and Flow Diagram. It has been revealed that prosumer organisations are driven by cost reductions as the main goal to adopt prosumerism, with environmental motives, customer satisfaction, diversification or access to a RES as other key factors for investing in solar PV electricity.