PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROSUMER ROLE IN THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEM

Climate change and the ever-growing demand for energy are pushing us to find new ways to manage energy production, distribution, and consumption. This energy transition is enabled, for example, by the digitalization, decentralization, and democratization of the energy system. The energy system is already transitioning from fossil-fuel and large power-plant–based generation toward a flexible system based on renewable energy sources. Traditional transmission grids are being replaced by smart grids enabled by digitalization that facilitate bi-directional flows of information and energy. At the consumption end, smart energy meters, energy monitoring devices and applications, and renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic and battery storages empower energy consumers to evolve into prosumers: the producers and consumers of energy. These prosumers, also referred to as active consumers and energy citizens, are envisioned to play an important role in the sustainable energy system in the future. While the energy prosumer role has gained more research attention during the past few years, plenty of gaps in completely understanding energy prosumerism still remain. This research focuses on studying the prosumer role in the sustainable energy system. I study the enablers and activities of energy prosumers and explore how the growing number of prosumers may influence the socio-technical energy transition. The research presents two main perspectives on prosumerism; it explores both the micro and macro-level influences on the energy prosumers. The main research fields of this study are sustainability transitions, innovation studies, and policy. Based on theory and literature review, a novel research framework synthesizing the theoretical concepts and earlier research related to prosumers is introduced. From the methodology viewpoint, a pragmatic research approach and mixed methods are used to explore the enablers for prosumerism as well as prosumer activities and their impact on the ongoing energy transition. The research results are displayed in the form of six articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and conferences. The first two articles make propositions about the prosumer role as part of the changing socio-technical energy and innovation system. The next two articles focus on understanding the micro-level impact on the energy prosumers and examine the producer–consumer, in particular, as a co-developer of energy-related innovations. The remaining two articles address the impact of macro-level policies on prosumers. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of the energy prosumer role in the future sustainable energy system. Theoretical contributions are related to the novel research framework that combines the concepts from the socio-technical multi-level perspective, innovation studies, and policy research as well as offers a more pragmatic framework for inquiry in the context of the changing energy system to observe the prosumer role therein. A specific theoretical contribution is made to the technology acceptance model that is tested in the context of external policy influence. Furthermore, the research contributes to innovation studies and especially to the field of user-centric innovations by bringing new results for understanding the factors behind end users’ collaboration interests. Practical contributions of the study are related to the understanding of the micro-foundations of prosumer interests toward innovation co-creation activities. Practitioners benefit from evidence concerning the differences between consumers and prosumers, which may help them in designing products and services for these different categories. This improved understanding is necessary, for example, to accelerate the diffusion of renewable energy technologies that is crucial for the sustainability transition. Policy- makers may benefit from the findings related to the policy analysis that combines and compares different prosumer activities with policy mixes and calls for a more holistic and systemic approach for the development of the prosumer related policies. While prosumer research has increased during the past decade, many future research avenues for the topic exist. For example, more research on prosumer role as part of the sustainability transition can help in designing better policies as well as products and services for consumers and prosumers. Moreover, systemic activities, such as those related to the integration of electric vehicle smart charging into the power system combined with other prosumer activities, offer opportunities for researchers. Furthermore, research concerning novel prosumer-centric business models, for instance related to energy communities, is needed to accelerate the diffusion of sustainable technology solutions. -- Ilmastomuutos ja kasvava energian kysyntä ajavat meidät etsimään uusia tapoja hallita energian tuotantoa, jakelua ja kulutusta. Energiajärjestelmä onkin jo siirtymässä fossiilisten polttoaineiden ja suurten voimalaitosten tuotannosta uusiutuviin energialähteisiin perustuvaan joustavaan järjestelmään. Sähköverkot on transformoitu digitalisoinnin mahdollistamana älykkäiksi Smart Grid -verkoiksi, jotka pystyvät siirtämään sekä energiaa että dataa molempiin suuntiin tuotannon ja kulutuksen välillä. Kulutuspäässä älykkäät energiamittarit, seurantalaitteet ja - sovellukset sekä uusiutuvien energialähteiden teknologiat, kuten aurinkosähkö ja akkuvarasto, antavat energiankuluttajille mahdollisuuden kehittyä prosumereiksi eli energian tuottaja-kuluttajiksi (engl. prosumer = producer-consumer). Prosumereilla, joihin viitataan myös nimillä ”aktiivinen kuluttaja” ja “energiakansalainen”, on tulevaisuudessa tärkeä rooli kestävässä energiajärjestelmässä. Vaikka prosumerit ovat saaneet lisää huomiota tutkimuksessa viime vuosina, energia prosumerismin ymmärtämisessä on vielä paljon aukkoja. Tämä tutkimus keskittyy selvittämään prosumerien roolia osana kestävää energiajärjestelmää ja sen murrosta. Tutkin prosumereihin liittyviä mahdollistajia, prosumerien toimintaa osana energiajärjestelmää sekä vaikutuksia kestävän kehityksen energiamurrokseen. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan monialainen, yhdistäen innovaatiotutkimusta, transitiotutkimusta ja myös jossain määrin politiikantutkimusta. Tässä pragmaattisessa tutkimuksessa käytetään sekä kvantitatiivisia että laadullisia tutkimusmetodeja. Tutkimuksen tulokset esitetään liitteenä olevien kuuden vertaisarvioidun konferenssi ja -journaaliartikkelin avulla. Ensimmäiset kaksi artikkelia esittävät propositioita prosumerin roolista osana muuttuvaa sosio-teknistä energia- ja innovaatiopelikenttää. Seuraavat kaksi artikkelia keskittyvät ymmärtämään mikrotason vaikutusta näihin toimijoihin ja tutkivat erityisesti energiaan liittyvien innovaatioiden yhteiskehittämistä. Lopuksi kaksi artikkelia käsittelevät makrotason politiikkatoimien vaikutusta prosumereihin. Tutkimuksen pääkontribuutio on ymmärryksen lisääminen kuluttajan muuttuvasta roolista osana energiajärjestelmää. Teoriakontribuutiot kytkeytyvät uusiin tapoihin yhdistää keskeisiä teorioita kestävän kehityksen transitiotutkimuksesta, innovaatiotutkimuksesta sekä politiikan tutkimuksesta. Käytännön elämään vaikuttavat kontribuutiot liittyvät empiirisiin tutkimustuloksiin esimerkiksi tavallisten kuluttajien ja prosumereiden eroista. Tietämyksen lisääminen auttaa teknologia- ja palveluyrityksiä suunnittelemaan tuotteita ja palveluita, jotka sopivat erilaisiin tarpeisiin, joka voi edelleen auttaa nopeuttamaan uusiutuvaan energiaan liittyvien innovaatioiden leviämistä ja siten edistää kestävää kehitystä. Prosumer -tutkimuksessa on edelleen paljon tilaa uudelle tieteenharjoitukselle. Esimerkiksi energiayhteisöt ovat yleistymässä ja tutkimus niiden roolista osana energiajärjestelmää on vasta käynnistynyt. Tutkimalla energiayhteisöjä pystytään lisäämään ymmärrystä niiden vaikutuksesta esimerkiksi sähköverkkoon ja lainsäädäntöön. Toisaalta myös yksittäisten aktiviteettien ja ajureiden tutkimuksessa on vielä paljon mahdollisuuksia. Esimerkiksi systeemiset ja integroidut ratkaisut, kuten sähköautojen käyttäminen osana kysyntäjoustoa, tarjoavat hyviä tutkimusaiheita. Lisäksi erityisesti uudet liiketoimintamallit liittyen prosumereihin ja energiayhteisöihin kaipaavat selkeyttämistä ja kokeiluja sekä regulaation muunnoksia

Defining the business ecosystem of peer-to-peer electricity trading

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the value proposition and structure of the business ecosystem of peer-to-peer electricity trading through a future oriented approach. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study follows a qualitative approach. It conducts conceptual analyses by utilizing previously validated tools in similar contexts. First, different views on business ecosystems are introduced and an argument is made to justify an ecosystem perspective for peerto-peer electricity trading. Second, the value proposition of the peer-to-peer electricity trading ecosystem is identified by utilising a meta-model which consists of four elements: end customer value, business value (shareholder value), collaborative value (business value to the supply chain) and societal value (value creation in the supply chain and control of negative externalities). Third, based on the structural view of business ecosystems, the study identifies actors, positions, links, and activities in the traditional electricity trading. And last, (structural) changes of the ecosystem for peer-to-peer electricity trading are discussed. Findings: This paper elaborates the business ecosystem of peer-to-peer electricity trading and highlights the structural changes it imposes to the status quo. Practical and social implications: The ecosystem construct adds insights into actors’ ecosystem strategy regarding their business models for peer-to-peer electricity trading as well as into the governance of this type of trading. It provides a comprehensive view for policy makers. It enhances the research designs in detailed aspects of the peer-to-peer electricity trading by providing a wide lense. Originality/Value: The identified business ecosystem of peer-to-peer electricity trading provides a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder perspective to incorporate complexities and include externalities

Prosumer communities and relationships in smart grids: A literature review, evolution and future directions

Smart grids are robust, self-healing networks that allow bidirectional propagation of energy and information within the utility grid. This introduces a new type of energy user who consumes, produces, stores and shares energy with other grid users. Such a user is called a "prosumer." Prosumers' participation in the smart grid is critical for the sustainability and long-term efficiency of the energy sharing process. Thus, prosumer management has attracted increasing attention among researchers in recent years. This paper systematically examines the literature on prosumer community based smart grid by reviewing relevant literature published from 2009 to 2018 in reputed energy and technology journals. We specifically focus on two dimensions namely prosumer community groups and prosumer relationships. Based on the evaluated literature, we present eight propositions and thoroughly describe several future research directions

Blockchain: From Industry 4.0 to the Machine Economy

The extreme automation of our factories is necessary in order to face the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This new industrial paradigm will force our industries to manufacture much shorter and customized series at increasingly competitive prices, even tackling the manufacture of thousands of different configurations of a single base product. In order to achieve this, our production processes must have a flexibility in their configuration that has never been imagined before. This flexibility and ability to adapt automatically to demand are the essence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and are part of the Western strategy to recover an industrial sector increasingly threatened by the Eastern production of large series at really competitive prices. Based on our participation in more than a dozen proofs of concept in the automotive, aeronautics, agri-food, or energy sectors, we describe the scenarios in which blockchain technology brings the greatest benefits to Industry 4.0. After finishing different experimentations, we carried out an in-depth analysis of the true added value of blockchain in the industry and contrasted our conclusions through interviews with more than 20 people in charge of innovation from different industries. As a result, we have obtained the principal four values of blockchain technology applied to Industry 4.0

Digitalisation and New Business Models in Energy Sector

This paper reviews digitalisation in energy sector by looking at the business models of 40 interesting new start-up energy companies from around the world. These start-ups have been facilitated by the rise of distributed generation, much of it intermittent in nature. We review Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Blockchain applications in energy sector. We discuss the rise of prosumers and small-scale renewable generation, highlighting the role of Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs), the Distribution System Platform concept and the potential for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) trading. Our aim is to help energy regulators calibrate their support new business models

Ushering in a New Dawn : Demand-Side Local Flexibility Platform Governance and Design in the Finnish Energy Markets

Energy ecosystems are under a significant transition. Local flexibility marketplaces (LFM) and platforms are argued to have significant potential in contributing to such a transition. The purpose of this study was to answer the following research question: how do market conditions and stakeholders shape emerging LFM platform governance choices? We approached this objective with an exploratory single-case study by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the Finnish energy ecosystem. The results of the content and pattern analyses revealed the key challenges to LFM implementation such as the current regulatory treatment of flexibility, high costs of gadget installations, and ensuring sufficient liquidity in the market. In addition, we also demonstrated that despite such barriers, the Finnish ecosystem is largely pragmatic about LFMs’ in its midst. All in all, we contributed to the non-technological streams of LFM literature by developing an exhaustive framework with four distinctive dimensions (i.e., ecosystem readiness, value-creation logic, platform architecture and governance, platform competitiveness) for LFM development, which helps academics, practitioners, and policy-makers to understand how novel platforms emerge and develop.© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed