Factors influencing local renewable energy initiatives in different contexts : comparative analysis: Italy, Romania and the Netherlands

There are many local energy initiatives in Europe aiming to introduce renewable energy. In order to see how these initiatives can be spread across Europe, a critical first step is to see what factors influence or might determine the development of local renewable energy initiatives. Therefore, this paper explores the stimulating factors for these developments, based upon an analysis of the factors affecting these initiatives in Romania, Italy and Netherlands respectively. A step carried for this purpose was a literature review. Moreover, based on the research developed by Boon (2012), for the assessment of the fostering and hindering factors in the Netherlands, an assessment framework was developed. This framework was transformed into a checklist of factors that was given for further assessment to the people affiliated with initiatives in Romania and Italy. This was done with the help of interviews, with founders or closely involved persons in such initiatives. In this manner the factors were empirically tested and additional insights were added. This led to the discovery of factors that foster the development of local renewable energy initiatives more clearly and specifically, to each context and major differences and similarities were highlighted.