Civic investments in the energy turn

Reinhold Kosfeld
Regional added value effects of different forms of organisation in electricity production from biomass

Abstract

For the tapping and effective use of the energy potentials of a region and hence for the sustainable strengthening of regional development, the attraction of the local population is of decisive importance. Citizen participation in decentralised energy production is not only advantageous for reasons of acceptance, but could also have positive effects on the regional added value potential. Particularly for electricity production from biomass, the article considers the impact of the organisational form on regional added value for the four demonstration regions Friesland, Hanover, Northern Black Forest and Trier. The comparative analysis makes the added value effects transparent which can be achieved in the framework of the organisational form of a cooperative society and in a "capitalist" enterprise form which is predominant in the economy. It can be shown that even if the financing share of the regional banks is the same, the citizen participation model can generate a regional added value which is 4.5% higher.