Terminologies and concepts of energy cooperations in Europe: A systematic review of characteristics, potentials, and challenges

The development of energy communities and the promotion of decarbonisation of settlements through the implementation of renewable and local energy production sources has been emphasised in recent years by European agreements and agendas such as the European Green Deal, the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package, or the REPowerEU Plan. While these directives focus on Renewable Energy Communities and Citizen Energy Communities, the range of terms used in the field is much wider. For this reason, an in-depth analysis of academic literature on European energy cooperation initiatives was carried out for a five-year period between 2018 and 2023. This comprehensive literature review allowed to identify the types of cooperative energy initiatives that are being promoted in Europe to support the climate neutrality targets. The paper presents a systematic overview of the different terms used to describe energy cooperation initiatives, their organisational forms, the main actors involved, and their roles and levels of participation, the main purposes and motivations, social cohesion factors, financing systems and economic models, as well as challenges and benefits encountered. The findings allow to identify challenges and innovations that can more successfully promote the different forms of energy cooperations and thus support the decarbonisation of cities and communities by decentralising energy, using local and more sustainable resources, transgressing the current social, legal and market regulations, and involving different local actors, especially citizens, in the process.