Community resources for energy transition: Implementing bioenergy villages in Germany

Innovations in energy transitions are diverse. Community-led innovations have only recently gained more attention. In the German energy transition, the community-led approach has resulted in a growing number of innovative renewable energy projects, with prominent examples including bioenergy villages. Although community-led innovations only constitute a niche within the German energy regime, through the example of bioenergy villages we can see how this approach is able to significantly change the energy regime on a local scale. This paper explores the role of community-led actions and resources in the implementation process of bioenergy villages in Germany, using the example of the county of Marburg-Biedenkopf in Hesse. The conceptual background of this paper is based on the analytical frameworks of the multi-level perspective and strategic niche management. Specifically, it addresses the two recent critiques on the neglect of space and place as well as the neglect of the analysis of community-based actions. Using this perspective, the paper analyses the spatial and scalar linkages between local community-driven actions and extra-local resources.