Energy Prosumers' Role in Accelerating Sustainability - an Empirical Study in Five European Countries

Energy regime is currently in transition into a more sustainable and decentralized system based on renewable energy sources. The transition enables new actors to enter the energy market. Consumer evolution into prosumer is one of the results of this energy regime shift. Today the energy prosumers are niche actors in energy sector, but their role is seen as vital for the future energy system. However, opinions differ on how the prosumers should be active and there is still gaps in the current research that is worth addressing. In this paper, we analyse the necessary enablers for consumer evolution into prosumers, their activities as part of the energy system focusing on the sustainability impact of these activities. By investigating the sustainability of the energy prosumer activities, we portray how consumers could be accelerating sustainable production and consumption of energy.