Prosumers in Action: The Analysis of Social Determinants of Photovoltaic Development and Prosumer Strategies in Poland

Piotr Zuk and Pawel Zuk
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Piotr Zuk: The Centre for Civil Rights and Democracy Research, Wroclaw, Poland,
Pawel Zuk: Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Wroclaw University of Economics, Poland.

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 294-306

Abstract: The aim of this article is to explain the mechanisms that have increased the grassroots development of photovoltaics (PV) in Poland and to explain the motives of prosumers. Micro-installations have become a driving force for PV in Poland, thanks to which the country, whose energy industry is mostly based on hard coal and lignite, became the fourth PV growth market in Europe in 2020. Based on focus group interviews, the authors explain the motives of prosumers, the impact of investing in PV on changing their lifestyle, their readiness to switch to off-grid systems and their potential to create a prosumer social movement in Poland. The decentralisation of the energy sector and the mass prosumer response to the increase in energy price led the government to change the regulations in force in Poland from April 2022, which defined the method of settling the surplus energy given by prosumers to the grid.

Keywords: micro-installations; prosumers; solar energy; photovoltaics; off-grid system; energy solidarity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O35 Q42 Q48 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eco:journ2:2022-04-32

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