c. Material scope: which activities are prosumer activities?
The material scope of the prosumer concept is more contentious than the personal scope. There are two main positions in the debate. Some authors stay true to the original definition of the prosumer as someone who both produces and consumes energy. Accordingly, they limit the prosumer concept to the core activities of generating one’s own energy and potentially storing and selling this energy.(1) For example: Whitaker, Ford and Stephenson (n 14) 5. We will call this view prosumption sensu stricto. Others take a more expansive view and include all activities that an engaged consumer can undertake.(2) For example: Jacobs (n 12) 524. In this case, activities undertaken by a consumer that do not strictly have to do with the production of energy are nevertheless included in the prosumer concept.(3) Lavrijssen and Carrillo Parra (n 13) 1210. The most common example is participation in demand response activities. We will address this opinion as prosumption sensu lato.
The active customer covers a broad range of activities and takes a sensu lato approach. In comparison, the local energy community includes a narrower range of activities but adds aggregation. The renewable self-consumer follows the sensu stricto approach. As the definition of the renewable self-consumer builds on the active customer concept, this means that active customers who engage in prosumption sensu stricto are also renewable self-consumers, whereas active customers who engage in prosumption sensu lato do not fall within the renewable self-consumer definition.(4) ibid 1216. The renewable energy community, to conclude, also uses the strict approach. Interestingly enough, the renewable energy community is allowed to buy or sell renewable energy through power purchase agreements, which counteracts its otherwise strong local connection.
It is clear that the European legislator adopts both the prosumption sensu stricto and the prosumption sensu lato points of view. Several terms float between the two extremes, for example where aggregation is added to an otherwise strict approach. Is there a reason why the active customer and the local energy community can act as an aggregator, but not the renewable energy community? Is there a reason why only the active customer can engage in energy efficiency schemes? Unfortunately, the directives leave these questions unanswered.