Empowering energy communities: The curious case of a socially beneficial community-owned solar park

We conducted a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of an ongoing solar park project owned by a local energy community in the Netherlands. The findings of the SCBA reveal a negative socioeconomic impact of the project in its current form. Therefore, we suggest that it is necessary to change the business model underlying the project and propose a recommendation on the existing regulation. To trigger a positive impact, we propose that the energy community is required to shift its revenue stream from trading electricity with grid operators to trading electricity directly with participating residents.