The co-benefits and risks of smart local energy systems: A systematic review

A transition to ‘smart’ local energy systems (SLES) could provide an opportunity to deliver a range of social, economic, technical and place-based co-benefits for SLES communities, alongside CO 2 reduction. However, there could also be underlying factors that limit success. In this paper we present the results of a systematic literature review to outline the potential co-benefits and risks of taking a SLES approach to energy system change. This review identifies multiple potential co-benefits, as well as a range of risk factors which could affect delivery. In addition, we identified that several co-benefits are interconnected, whereby certain co-benefits cannot occur until other co-benefits have first been achieved. We propose three dimensions of SLES co-benefits and risks: process , impact , and distribution to aid understanding of how, where, why and when these co-benefits or risks could arise and who might be in receipt of them. However, we conclude that a more co-ordinated approach across a range of stakeholders is required to maximise beneficial outputs and to ameliorate risks.