From Individual Consumers to Energy Communities: A Techno-economic Assessment of Swiss Local Electricity Communities

TL;DR

This study evaluates Swiss local electricity communities, showing they enhance renewable use, reduce grid exports, and offer economic benefits, with internal pricing crucial for fairness and efficiency.

Contribution

It provides a techno-economic assessment of Swiss local electricity communities under new legal frameworks, highlighting key factors influencing their performance.

Findings

LEC participation increases renewable utilization

Reduces grid exports and offers economic benefits

Internal electricity pricing affects efficiency and fairness

Abstract

As energy communities move from policy design to implementation in Switzerland, understanding their performance in practice has become increasingly important. A techno-economic assessment of a regulation-compliant LEC is presented under the new Swiss legal framework in this study. A reference case without local electricity exchange is compared to a LEC scenario with internal electricity sharing. Results show that LEC participation increases local renewable utilization, reduces grid exports, and delivers economic benefits to both consumers and prosumers. A sensitivity analysis further indicates that internal electricity pricing plays a critical role in shaping trade-offs between overall efficiency and fairness in benefit distribution. This exploratory study provides practical insights to support informed decision-making and the future development of LEC in Switzerland.