Key design elements and perceived cost-benefits of energy communities – what factors matter most? A descriptive analysis

This paper, developed within the PIA research project, investigates how energy communities can be designed to broaden citizen participation and overcome barriers to energy community (EC) membership.
Drawing on a comprehensive literature review and four citizen workshops conducted across Ger-man cities, a large-scale online survey of 964 German households has been conducted to identify key drivers, barriers, and preferred design features of energy communities.
Results reveal a striking gap between attitudes, intention and behavior: while 67% of respondents hold a positive attitude toward energy communities, 50% are likely to become a member, and only 2% are actual members. Membership intention is significantly shaped by socio-economic and demographic factors, including gender, income, education, home ownership, and prior engagement with renewable energy (e.g., PV ownership or RE investments). Financial considerations play a central role, with low-income groups exhibiting heightened risk sensitivity and lower motivation to join, while required cost savings when joining an EC decrease as membership intention increases. Independence from large energy providers and affordable electricity emerge as the strongest goals, whereas voluntary engagement and social interaction are comparatively less important. However, the latter could be a reason to join an EC, as these aspects are particularly associated with EC. Fairness - particularly regarding the equitable distribution of costs, benefits, and decision-making power - is consistently valued across respondent groups. Notably, a distinct regional effect is observed in Saxony-Anhalt, where attitudes toward ECs are markedly less favorable, plausibly linked to the region's political climate.
With respect to design preferences, respondents favor photovoltaic and onshore wind technologies, prioritize electricity generation and storage as core EC activities, and express strong support for local citizen and municipal involvement and local suppliers over external or national actors. A cooperative, collective legal structure is preferred over a commercial orientation, and respondents generally support member involvement in strategic decisions, though preferences for operational decision-making are more divided.
While design preferences vary modestly across demographic subgroups - mainly by age and educational background - the overall pattern suggests that no single "one-size-fits-all" EC model can accommodate the full diversity of citizen needs. Instead, findings point to the importance of context-sensitive design that balances locale features, financial accessibility, low organizational complexity, transparency, and meaningful participation opportunities.