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Driving forces for and barriers to providing energy services—a study of local and regional energy companies in Sweden

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Abstract

Improving energy efficiency is a cornerstone in climate change mitigation, and energy services are portrayed as a promising market-based approach to achieve this. This paper examines the barriers to, and driving forces needed for, the implementation of energy services from the perspective of Swedish local and regional energy companies. This includes an analysis of the resources needed in three phases of energy service implementation, i.e., development, sales, and deployment. The results indicate a supply-side interest in providing energy services, with the major challenges being related to (a) intra-organizational issues such as a lack of strategic direction and intent and (b) a perceived lack of knowledge, interest, and trust on the part of potential energy service customers. The paper concludes with managerial and policy implications on how an increased focus and impact of energy service can be achieved among local and regional companies.

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Notes

  1. These were identified using self-reported industry codes (SNI 35.300), excluding very small firms (with fewer than five employees and under SEK 10 million turnover) and non-energy firms. As several firms did not report all industry codes, a number of firms were finally added to and removed from the sample by the researchers.

  2. The three were “Delivery of metering/metering value for tap hot water/cold water,” “dimensioning support for district heating installation, installation, and administrative support for sales of solar cells for micro production,” and “energy declarations, lighting audit.”

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on earlier versions of the paper. The authors are also indebted to the respondents at the studied companies for giving freely of their time and attention to participate in this study. Finally, the authors are grateful to the Swedish Energy Agency for funding this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linköping University, SE-581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Daniel Kindström, Mikael Ottosson & Patrik Thollander

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  1. Daniel Kindström
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  2. Mikael Ottosson
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  3. Patrik Thollander
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Correspondence to Daniel Kindström.

Appendix: Questionnaire

Appendix: Questionnaire

The questionnaire was sent out in Swedish. In this appendix, only selected parts pertaining to the analyses made in this article have been translated and included.

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Kindström, D., Ottosson, M. & Thollander, P. Driving forces for and barriers to providing energy services—a study of local and regional energy companies in Sweden. Energy Efficiency 10, 21–39 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-016-9437-8

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