Tracking Demographic and Financial Trends in Renewable Energy Cooperative Membership in Belgium using Survey and Bank Transaction Data

Melita Van Steenberghe, Aislinn D’hulster, Johannes Weytjens, Marten Ovaere and Koen Schoors

Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium from Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

Abstract: This study investigates the demographic and financial profiles of members of 25 renewable energy cooperatives (RECs) in Belgium from 2012 to 2022, representing around 100,000 members. Analyzing anonymous transaction data from 1.3 million bank customers, we find that REC members typically have higher wealth, income, and consumption levels than nonmembers, with the gap widening over time. New members closely match the financial and age profiles of existing members, following the same upward, diverging trajectory, and indicating a trend towards a homogeneous and aging membership. To diversify REC membership, we conducted surveys with REC members and non-members. The results reveal that potential new members are typically younger and wealthier residents who have a better knowledge of RECs and a more pro-environmental mindset. These findings highlight the opportunity for RECs to innovate and engage a more diverse membership of citizens participating in the renewable energy transition.

Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2024-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-hme
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://wps-feb.ugent.be/Papers/wp_24_1093.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rug:rugwps:24/1093

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium from Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Nathalie Verhaeghe ().