A
large-scale transition towards renewable energy is on-going in various
countries, following in part from sustainability goals related to climate
policy, increased energy security concerns and rapid development of energy
technologies. For example, EU has set targets for the renewable energy
production: 20% energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources by 2020
and 27% by 2030. The share of renewable energy is now growing in many European
countries but in Finland the recent development has been modest. Finland has a
long tradition in utilising wood industry side-streams and hydropower for
energy production in a centralized manner. Recent technological advances have
opened new opportunities and interest in renewable energy, particularly in
rural areas connected to energy grids. There are “forerunners” and “early
adopters” among both large and small energy companies as well as individual
households who have begun investing into decentralised renewable energy systems.
We focus on elements of business models distinctive to forerunners operating on
three decentralised energy sources, namely ground-source heat, wood chips and
biogas. We analyse four different business model dimensions: product / service
innovation, infrastructure, economy and customer relationship management. The
material is gathered from ca. 30 expert interviews (including the forerunners
and other stakeholders) of renewable energy in Finland and from policy
documents regarding renewable energy. Our results show the different actors’
incentives to utilize or not utilize decentralized energy production methods.