Co-Creation for Sustainable Energy Transition: A Case Study of Local Energy Cooperatives in the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague

The irreversible effects of climate change have led to a significant increase in citizen-led and initiated local energy cooperatives. Playing a crucial role in the shift to renewable energy, these cooperatives are evolving from informal community groups to structured organisations. Their success relies on co-creation, a collaborative process in which stakeholders and citizens join forces to improve efficient decision-making, build trust and promote shared responsibility. This leads to creating effective solutions and achieving collective goals across projects and sectors. This thesis examines the role of co-creation in local energy cooperatives and highlights its importance in promoting sustainable energy practices and empowering citizens. It focuses on investigating co-creation within the energy cooperatives of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague (MRDH) and connects theoretical concepts with practical applications in energy transition. The central research question is: ”In what ways does co-creation manifest within local energy cooperatives in the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague?” A literature review was conducted using the PRISMA method and snowball technique to understand the academic perspectives of co-creation, especially in energy transition. This helped identify the scope of the thesis and gaps in current academic knowledge. The thesis contains two theoretical frameworks. The first, from Puerari et al. (2018), examines the dynamics of co-creation in local communities and identifies five key elements: intended purpose, process type, ownership, motivations and incentives, and spaces and places. This research applied these elements to understand co-creation in MRDH’s local energy cooperatives through qualitative case study analysis. The analysis reveals the cooperatives’ commitment to fossil-free energy and their encouragement of citizen participation through a mix of formal and informal methods, addressing different motivation
Complex Systems Engineering and Management (CoSEM)