Welcome to the case studies website of the Global Observatory on Peer-to-Peer, Collective Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy (‘GO-P2P’). GO-P2P is a forum for international collaboration to understand the policy, regulatory, social and technological conditions necessary to support the wider deployment of peer-to-peer, community self-consumption and transactive energy models.
One of the Observatory’s core functions is collecting data from P2P/TE/CSC pilot projects across the world using a common template. The template has been derived from a series of six refereed and published systematic reviews conducted by the Observatory’s five sub-tasks. These cover the five key components of local energy systems: Power Systems Integration; ICT and Data; Transactions and Markets; Social and Economic aspects; and Policy and Regulation.
Each case includes a standardised report outlining key information about the case including the aims and objectives of the pilot, key learnings and obstacles encountered, and recommendations for policymakers. Individually, these cases offer insight into the opportunities presented by local energy markets and the technical, regulatory and social challenges faced in their implementation. Together, the collection aims to offer a rich dataset for comparative analysis and lesson sharing across countries and contexts.[WN1] This will provide a useful resource for researchers in the field, as well as a valuable evidence base for policymakers and practitioners interested in implementing local energy markets.
As energy systems decarbonise, end-users are taking on increasingly important roles in energy systems. Households and businesses are adopting small-scale generation such as solar PV and providing demand flexibility through behaviour change and smart technologies. IEA statistics show that last year small solar PV in residential, commercial, industrial and off-grid applications amounted to half the total growth in global solar capacity. In response to this, business models are emerging to provide incentives to participate in the energy market, including a suite of models known as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading, transactive energy (TE), and community/collective self-consumption (CSC), which allow participants to trade and share energy with each other. These models can deliver social and economic benefits, as well as supporting energy system decarbonisation. These potential benefits are being recognised in legalisation, such as the Renewable Energy Directive of the European Commission (RED II).
To date, most existing implementations of P2P/TE/CSC models have not progressed beyond small scale pilots or trials. However, as countries within and beyond the EU give consumers the right to use, store and sell their own energy it will be important for policymakers and industry to have a strong evidence base to understand the critical success factors and barriers to the implementation of these models at scale. Part of the research community’s effort to provide evidence to support policy decisions on P2P/TE/CSC models is the Global Observatory on Peer-to-Peer, Collective Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy (‘GO-P2P’).
The Global Observatory on Peer-to-Peer, Community Self-Consumption and Transactive Energy (GO-P2P) is a pre-competitive and early-stage research collaboration on the whole-system implications of local energy market models. Launched in September 2019, GO-P2P aims to share valuable insights into the factors that determine the success or failure of local energy models providing an authoritative and impartial evidence base for policy makers and regulators working on these innovative business models across the world.
GO-P2P is a Task of the User-Centred Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Programme 2 (UsersTCP) which sits under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and brings together more than 200 experts from 10 member countries, representing academia, industry and non-profits, with additional knowledge contributions from experts in a further 15 countries.
For further information about GO-P2P, please visit our website: https://userstcp.org/global-observatory-on-peer-to-peer-trading-task/
Within GO-P2P, five subtasks (STs) led by world-leading institutions are working to understand the key challenges and evidence gaps surrounding five layers that need to be aligned if these models are to become widely deployed. These are:
GO-P2P takes a multidisciplinary approach, aiming to bring together insights from across STs into a holistic perspective.
GO-P2P has produced a series of systematic literature reviews across its five sub-tasks, identifying key challenges, success factors and research gaps in each ST. Based on the findings of these systematic reviews, the GO-P2P team developed data collection templates designed to collect information from cases in a standardised way, focusing on factors identified in the literature reviews as important for understanding how to accelerate P2P/TE/CSC models. The depth and types of data will vary from case to case depending on pilot-project objectives and scale. Each case will include basic descriptors of the case and varying levels of detail across the five subject areas outlined above.
Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), GO-P2P will develop 'readiness indices' to assess the readiness of member countries to implement these new energy market models. These findings will not only serve policymakers, but also feed into the IEA and its publications.
GO-P2P publications
Subtask publications
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