An exploration of prospective users’ perception of a citizen energy community and its organization and benefits

<ns3:p>Background This paper describes and presents the work performed to assess the user experience in an innovation project involving citizen energy communities. The text discusses ways for two community energy cooperatives (CECs) to engage a wider range of local stakeholders and to explore their knowledge, experience and perceptions they have about energy communities, PV panels, demand response, and other technologies. Methods It consists of a report on the evaluation of the qualitative aspects of the user perspective and recommendations for improving future user acceptance. The process was organised into three phases: the design of the evaluation, its implementation and the analysis of results. Interviews and questionnaires were used to extract the sought information. Results Outcomes from the inquiry done, using different techniques (interviews and questionnaires), are presented. The interviews and questionnaires used to explore participants' ideas included various sections or sets of questions on the project services as experienced by end-users, considered as a whole without distinguishing between the different technologies that make up these services. These services were: collective self-consumption from photovoltaic (PV) installations; heat pump systems; Electrical Vehicle charging points; and local energy communities. Conclusions CECs could engage employees beyond just management, using methods like gamification to promote energy savings habits. In some cases, renewable energy may not be commercially viable leading to lack of user interest, as seen with the Domain de la Source pilot site. Engaging diverse local stakeholders, including women, youth, and lower-income groups, is critical for a fair energy transition, as currently CECs tend to attract mainly educated male adults.</ns3:p>