Future energy communities: How community norms shape individual adoption and acceptability of sustainable energy systems

Most research on factors influencing the acceptability and adoption of sustainable energy systems is focused on individual-level factors such as personal norms, values, and attitudes. Some researchers have considered the effects of social factors such as descriptive and injunctive norms, but little research has been conducted on social factors at the community level, such as neighborhood identity and participation. The latter may play an important role in promoting the use of sustainable energy systems – as exemplified by various recent bottom-up approaches to establish local energy systems in the Netherlands. In this study, we consider the role that local communities can play in promoting the acceptability and adoption of sustainable energy systems. More specifically, we test to what extent community norms, and established sustainability norms on a community level, affect individual acceptability and adoption of sustainable energy systems. We expect this effect to be moderated by the level of identification a person has with their community. We will present results of a questionnaire study among 200 Dutch citizens who are participating in an energy transition project. Results show that community-level factors are indeed related to acceptability and adoption of renewable energy systems.