'Electric City': Uncovering Social Dimensions and Values of Sharing Renewable Energy through Gaming.

With the advent of Smart Energy Systems and Energy Cooperatives in Netherlands and elsewhere, sharing of renewable energy within neighbourhoods is likely to gain wide prominence in the near future. Today the concept of 'Energy Sharing' is often limited to householders 'selling' their surplus of locally generated energy to the energy grid. Rather than shared locally, transporting energy back to the grid results in a loss of energy through the power lines. The research aims to understand present and future social dimensions and values of energy sharing from a people's perspective. In this paper the Energy Management game 'Electric City', is presented and results from gaming sessions.The game serves as a platform for informants to reflect upon values and expectations associated with Energy Sharing.