Full Title: Toward a Shared Zero-Carbon Energy Future: A Global Analysis of Rural Energy Cooperatives
Author(s): Yihan Hao, Jun Li, Ting Li, Yuqin Han, and Haiming Wu
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: November 10, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Community energy models, exemplified by rural energy cooperatives, are playing a key role in accelerating the clean energy transition across many countries. In anticipation of the upcoming 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, this report explores the role of cooperatives as a collaborative model and an emerging player in the energy market. Based on global case studies, it provides an overview of rural energy cooperatives, illustrating various financing, profit, and benefit-distribution models, assessing their environmental, economic, and social impacts, and summarizing current trends and challenges facing their development.
This report also highlights the potential of rural energy cooperatives in driving energy transition and innovation. By tapping into local resources, cooperatives enable energy production and consumption by local communities, reducing reliance on external supplies and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing. The collaborative model and people-centered approach can expedite the transformation from a centralized energy system to one that is decentralized, participatory, and low carbon.