Germany

A town of 2,500
bought the grid from RWE

Germany's Energiewende produced over a thousand citizen energy cooperatives. Three of them solve three different problems: how to market when you are small, how to own the complete infrastructure, and how to finance without banks.

0 cooperatives grouped in Bürgerwerke
0 EWS Schönau customers
0 citizen capital in Starkenburg
Second-tier cooperative

7 - Bürgerwerke — Cooperative of Citizen Cooperatives

Country: Germany - Type: Second-tier cooperative (cooperative of cooperatives) - Founded: 2013

History and Context

Bürgerwerke eG ("Citizen Works") is a second-tier energy cooperative based in Heidelberg, Germany, founded in 2013. Its model is unique: it is a cooperative of cooperatives, where local energy cooperatives from across Germany unite to jointly market the electricity generated by their installations.

Its founding took place in the context of the Energiewende (German energy transition), which since 2000, with the Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG), had driven a boom in citizen energy cooperatives. However, while many cooperatives were excellent at generating energy, they found it difficult and costly to market it directly to end consumers: that requires marketing licenses, billing infrastructure, customer service, and regulatory compliance.

Bürgerwerke solved this problem by creating a common marketing platform: local cooperatives generate the electricity, and Bürgerwerke aggregates, markets, and delivers it to households and businesses across Germany under the BürgerÖkostrom (Citizen Green Electricity) brand.

Governance Model

Legal structure: registered cooperative (eingetragene Genossenschaft, eG) under German cooperative law.

Membership

  • As of June 2025, Bürgerwerke groups 145 member energy cooperatives from across Germany
  • Each member cooperative has one vote at the general assembly, regardless of its size
  • Member cooperatives maintain their legal and operational independence; Bürgerwerke is their common commercial arm

Governing bodies

  • General assembly of member cooperatives (supreme body)
  • Executive board (Vorstand) elected by the assembly
  • Supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat)
  • Professional team in Heidelberg for operational management

Scale and Capacity

  • 145 member energy cooperatives (June 2025)
  • Over 1,400 generation installations across Germany
  • Generation of 518 million kWh of renewable electricity in 2024
  • Generation mix: solar photovoltaic, wind, and biomass
  • Supply of 100% renewable electricity to households and businesses across Germany
  • Also markets BürgerÖkogas (citizen renewable gas)
On Bürgerwerke's capacity

The source declares 1,400+ installations and 518 million kWh generated in 2024, but does not declare MW installed. Deriving MW from annual kWh would require assuming a capacity factor the source does not provide, and the mix is solar + wind + biomass, each with a very different factor. That is why this case does not appear in the capacity chart.

Financial Model

Bürgerwerke revenue model

  • Electricity marketing: Bürgerwerke buys electricity from its member cooperatives and sells it to end consumers through the national grid. The marketing margin covers operating costs and generates a profit distributed among member cooperatives
  • Brand value: BürgerÖkostrom positions itself as premium electricity: 100% renewable, generated by citizens, with no participation from nuclear, coal, oil, or military industry companies
  • Aggregation model: by aggregating generation from 145 cooperatives, Bürgerwerke achieves economies of scale in marketing, billing, and customer service that would be impossible for each individual cooperative

For member cooperatives

  • Receive a fair price for their electricity (above the wholesale market price)
  • Avoid the costs and complexities of obtaining marketing licenses
  • Benefit from the shared brand and marketing
  • Maintain their local autonomy

For consumers

  • Competitive price for 100% renewable electricity
  • Traceability: they know exactly which cooperatives their electricity comes from
  • Direct contribution to the citizen energy transition

Impact

  • Approximately 213,000 tonnes of CO2 saved in 2024 compared to the conventional German electricity mix
  • German Sustainability Award 2025 for BürgerÖkostrom
  • In 2024, recognized as the most sustainable company in the "Energy Generation and Trading" category in Germany
  • Demonstration that citizen cooperatives can compete with large energy companies in the retail electricity market
  • Creation of a replicable model: the cooperative of cooperatives as a solution to the marketing challenge

Lessons for Colombia

Directly applicable
  • The second-tier cooperative model solves a critical problem Colombian cooperatives will face as they grow: how to efficiently market their surplus electricity
  • Aggregating multiple small cooperatives to achieve commercial scale is directly applicable to Colombia, where community projects are typically small
  • Joint branding (a Colombian "BürgerÖkostrom," equivalent to "Colombian Community Electricity") allows product differentiation and charging a premium for its social and environmental value
  • The separation between generation (local cooperatives) and marketing (second-tier cooperative) allows each level to focus on its strengths
Requires adaptation
  • The German electricity market is fully liberalized with free choice of provider, which is not the case in Colombia for most users
  • Colombian regulation on electricity marketing by cooperatives needs further development
  • Billing and metering infrastructure must be adapted to the Colombian context
  • Consumer trust in cooperative brands requires building, as the concept is new in the Colombian energy sector
Citizen electric cooperative

8 - Elektrizitätswerke Schönau (EWS) — The Rebels of Schönau

Country: Germany - Type: Citizen Electric Cooperative / Community Utility - Founded: 1994

History and Context

The story of EWS Schönau is arguably the most inspiring narrative in the global citizen energy movement. It all began in April 1986, when news of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster reached Schönau, a small town of approximately 2,500 inhabitants in the Black Forest, southwestern Germany.

Ursula Sladek, a mother and schoolteacher, along with other concerned parents, founded the group "Parents for a Nuclear-Free Future" (Eltern für eine atomfreie Zukunft). What began as a local activism group transformed into a decade-long struggle.

The eleven years that changed the town

  1. 1986

    Chernobyl

    News of the nuclear disaster reaches Schönau. Ursula Sladek and other parents found "Parents for a Nuclear-Free Future" and launch energy-saving competitions in households.

    The trigger
  2. 1991

    First referendum

    After failing to negotiate with KWR (an RWE subsidiary) to adopt tariffs incentivizing savings, the town votes on whether the grid concession should be opened to competition.

    5 years later
  3. 1996

    Second referendum

    EWS wins with 85% of the town's votes confirming the grid transfer. The national campaign "Ich bin ein Stromrebell" ("I am an electricity rebel") raises funds from across Germany.

    85% in favor
  4. 1997

    The grid is theirs

    Takeover of the local electrical grid. The citizens of Schönau become owners of their own electrical infrastructure.

    11 years of struggle

Milestones declared by the source. The research contains no numerical series for EWS — no customers per year, no capacity per year — only these dates and the current figures. That is why no growth curve is drawn.

Governance Model

Legal structure: registered cooperative (eingetragene Genossenschaft, eG) since its transformation into a cooperative.

Corporate group

  • EWS Elektrizitätswerke Schönau eG: the parent cooperative, with over 9,000 cooperative members from across Germany
  • EWS Netze GmbH: subsidiary that operates and maintains the electrical and gas grids in Schönau and eight surrounding communities, plus two gas networks
  • EWS Energie GmbH: subsidiary for nationwide electricity and gas marketing

Governance principles

  • Strict exclusion policy: no business with companies involved in nuclear energy, coal, oil, or military industry
  • Only purchases electricity generated by independent renewable sources
  • Full transparency in the composition of the energy mix

Scale and Capacity

  • Over 200,000 customers (households and businesses) across Germany
  • 9,000+ cooperative members
  • Operation of electrical and gas grids in 9 communities (Schönau and 8 neighbors)
  • Over 3,100 citizen energy projects supported through the Sonnencent program (totaling 30 MW of capacity)
  • 185,000 supporters nationwide

Financial Model

Revenue model

  • Electricity marketing: sale of 100% renewable electricity to over 200,000 customers across Germany (made possible by the liberalization of the German electricity market in 1998)
  • Grid operation: regulated revenue from operating and maintaining electrical and gas grids
  • Renewable gas: nationwide marketing of renewable gas

Sonnencent (Solar Penny) program

  • Innovative mechanism integrated into every customer's bill
  • Each customer pays a minimum of 0.5 euro cents per kWh extra, allocated to supporting new renewable energy projects, energy efficiency projects, energy democracy, and other initiatives
  • In 2020, EUR 1.8 million was reinvested in the energy transition through the Sonnencent
  • In total, over 3,100 citizen energy projects have been supported across Germany with these funds

Grid purchase

  • The initial purchase of Schönau's electrical grid was financed with a combination of cooperative capital, citizen donations, and bank financing
  • The national fundraising campaign "Ich bin ein Stromrebell" ("I am an electricity rebel") mobilized solidarity from across the country

Impact

  • Demonstration that citizens can own complete energy infrastructure, including the distribution grid
  • Model of a citizen-owned utility company at national scale (200,000 customers)
  • Policy advocacy role: EWS is an influential voice in the German energy debate, advocating for nuclear phase-out, coal plant closures, and acceleration of the energy transition
  • EUR 1.8 million annually redistributed through the Sonnencent to support citizen energy projects across Germany
  • Demonstration effect: the Schönau story has inspired hundreds of communities in Germany and worldwide to consider community ownership of energy infrastructure
  • Ursula Sladek received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2011 for her leadership

Lessons for Colombia

Directly applicable
  • The EWS story demonstrates that environmental and social motivation can be a powerful driver for community action. In Colombia, concerns about high energy costs, service intermittency, or environmental impacts of conventional generation could fulfill a similar role
  • The Sonnencent program (a cent per kWh on every bill) is a simple and transparent redistribution mechanism that could be implemented in Colombia: each user of a cooperative or energy community contributes a small amount per kWh consumed to an expansion and new projects fund
  • The "energy rebels" narrative is powerful for communication and social marketing. Colombian communities can build similar narratives about energy sovereignty
  • The gradual growth (from a town of 2,500 to 200,000 customers) demonstrates that community models can scale significantly
Requires adaptation
  • Purchasing the distribution grid is not legally possible in Colombia under the current framework (grids are operated by regulated concessionaires). However, communities can own the generation and negotiate better terms with distributors
  • Full electricity market liberalization (free choice of provider) does not exist in Colombia for regulated users, limiting the possibility of an EWS-style model selling electricity nationwide
  • EWS's policy advocacy requires a democratic context with spaces for citizen participation in energy policy, which Colombia is gradually developing
  • The story of two successful municipal referendums requires a civic culture and direct participation mechanisms that need strengthening in many Colombian municipalities
Regional energy cooperative

9 - Energiegenossenschaft Starkenburg — German Regional Model

Country: Germany - Type: Regional Energy Cooperative - Founded: 2010

History and Context

Energiegenossenschaft Starkenburg eG is a regional energy cooperative founded on December 15, 2010, in Heppenheim, in the Starkenburg region (southern Hesse, Germany). Its founding reflects the peak of the energy cooperative movement in Germany, when the combination of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), generous feed-in tariffs, and a strong citizen impulse generated the creation of hundreds of energy cooperatives across the country.

What distinguishes Starkenburg from many other cooperatives is its comprehensive regional approach: it is not limited to a single technology or a single project, but develops a diversified portfolio of renewable projects across the region, following the principle that "whoever sees the installation should benefit from it."

The cooperative also evolved from being purely energy-focused to becoming a climate protection cooperative (Klimaschutzgenossenschaft), expanding its mission to include energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, and environmental education.

Governance Model

Legal structure: registered cooperative (eingetragene Genossenschaft, eG).

Membership

  • 474 members currently
  • Independent and non-partisan cooperative
  • Flexible participation model: members can invest in specific projects of their interest or at the general cooperative level

Guiding principle: "Whoever sees it should benefit"

  • Residents near each installation have priority to participate in that specific project
  • This generates social acceptance of renewable infrastructure and distributes economic benefits locally

Scale and Capacity

  • 26 solar photovoltaic plants
  • 3 wind turbines, including a citizen wind turbine of 2,000 kW that annually supplies over 1,250 households
  • 1 biogas plant
  • Total of approximately 30 renewable generation installations
  • Diversified technology mix that reduces risk and maximizes use of local resources

Real and exclusive division of the ~30 installations declared by the source, which is why a donut chart is appropriate here. The chart counts installations, not capacity: the source only declares the rating of one turbine (2,000 kW), not of the 26 solar plants or the biogas plant, so a MW donut would be invented.

Financial Model

Investment structure per member

  • 2 cooperative shares at EUR 100 each (EUR 200 total entry)
  • Subordinated loan of at least EUR 1,800 for a specific project
  • Total minimum investment: EUR 2,000 per member

Financing model

  • 100% citizen equity: the cooperative has been able to finance all its projects to date exclusively with member capital, without needing bank financing
  • This is possible thanks to the high citizen interest in participating
  • Member returns come from electricity sales revenue (EEG feed-in tariffs) and energy cost savings

Model advantage

  • With no bank debt, the cooperative retains a higher proportion of revenue to distribute among its members
  • The subordinated loan structure (EUR 1,800+) links the member to a specific project, generating commitment and a sense of ownership

Impact

  • Renewable electricity generation sufficient to supply thousands of households in the region
  • Significant CO2 emissions reduction in southern Hesse
  • Local wealth redistribution: financial benefits from renewable generation remain in the region instead of going to distant energy corporations
  • Recognition: named "Energie-Kommune of the Month" by the German Renewable Energy Agency
  • Evolution to climate protection cooperative: mission expansion to energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, and education
  • Demonstration effect: has financed all its projects with citizen capital, proving that banks are not indispensable for local energy transition

Lessons for Colombia

Directly applicable
  • The principle of "whoever sees it should benefit" is extremely relevant for Colombia, where communities near large-scale renewable projects (La Guajira, Cesar, Santander) frequently receive no direct benefits. This principle could be integrated into Colombian regulation
  • The minimum investment of EUR 2,000 (equivalent to COP 8-10 million) is an achievable amount for upper-middle-income Colombian families. For lower-income groups, it could be adapted with smaller amounts (COP 500,000 to COP 2,000,000) and soft credit schemes
  • Technological diversification (solar + wind + biomass) within a single regional cooperative is a resilient and efficient model
  • 100% citizen capital financing demonstrates that, with sufficient trust and a clear model, citizens can directly finance their energy transition without bank intermediation
  • The evolution to a "climate protection cooperative" (adding energy efficiency, mobility, education) is a service expansion model Colombian cooperatives could follow
Requires adaptation
  • Feed-in tariffs that ensure predictable income in Germany do not exist in the same form in Colombia. PPA contracts or equivalent compensation mechanisms would be needed
  • German citizens' income and savings levels are significantly higher; investment amounts must be carefully calibrated
  • The subordinated loan culture (where the investor assumes risk of loss) requires financial education and institutional trust that must be built gradually
  • Permits and procedures for building wind turbines in Colombia are more complex and prolonged than in the Hesse region

A town of 2,500 that reached 200,000 customers

EWS Schönau went from a group of parents after Chernobyl to a cooperative with over 9,000 members and 200,000 customers. Its Sonnencent — half a cent per kWh on every bill — reinvested EUR 1.8 million in 2020 and has supported over 3,100 citizen projects. It is the most replicable expansion financing mechanism in the corpus.

The German model,
translated for Colombia

Second-tier cooperative, solar penny for expansion, and "whoever sees it should benefit"

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