LESSONS IN COMMUNITY OWNED PV FROM SWEDISH MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING COOPERATIVES

摘要

With increasing population shifts to urban areas and demands for post-war energy efficient renovations across Europe, solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment in multi-family housing will play an increasingly important role towards meeting renewable energy, climate, and sustainability goals. This paper describes the stories of three Swedish residential cooperatives who have installed large-scale PV systems across multiple buildings on their estates. In all cases, reduced operating costs were the original primary motivator; however unforeseen cost increases, changes in policy, and excess supply in the electricity market have made economic success less likely than originally expected. Regardless, the owners consider their projects a success due in part to short term social and long-term environmental benefits, which were originally less important and difficult to quantify. We can conclude that community owned PV offers more than just economic benefits, and Sweden's unique ownership and management structure of residential cooperatives can offer insights towards increased deployment in other nations in Europe.