How consumers prefer to innovate in renewable energy and what they expect to get in return for co-creation

Traditional energy market is currently in transition towards a more flexible energy system in which energy generation is decentralized and based on renewable energy sources, technical platforms are intelligent, vast amount of data is generated and analyzed, and multiple actors are able to participate in various aspects of the energy process. End user role is evolving from consumer towards a prosumer i.e. a producer and consumer of energy. The energy consumers - and prosumers - are envisaged to become significant actors in the future energy ecosystem, which also enables novel type of innovations and value creation opportunities for variety of stakeholders. This paper explores the consumer drivers behind interests in engaging in renewable energy related value co-creation and investigates what kind of rewards the end users expect to get in return for collaboration. We present empirical findings from an exploratory consumer survey conducted in four European countries.