Energy Cooperatives in Switzerland: Survey Results // Energiegenossenschaften in der Schweiz: Befragungsergebnisse

Topic of Survey The data at hand on energy cooperatives in Switzerland were collected in 2016 as part of the project "Collective financing of renewable energy projects in Switzerland and Germany" of the National Research Programme 71 "Managing Energy Consumption". The cooperatives were surveyed on their organizational structure, their activities in electricity and heat generation, their finances, the political context and their assessments of the future. Survey Method The survey was targeted at all energy cooperatives in Switzerland (this is the basic population). The Swiss Commercial Register was searched for cooperatives and specific keywords in order to determine this basic population and collect addresses. This search in May 2016 resulted in a total of 304 energy cooperatives, to which a questionnaire was sent in July 2016. A pre-test with 8 persons had been carried out before the questionnaire was sent out. The questionnaire was provided in German and French. It was sent by mail and an attached letter referred to a link for the digital version if preferred. The online version was designed with the software "Sawtooth". After three weeks, a first, and after six weeks a second r