Energy Transformation and the Social Economy: The nexus between citizen energy communities and social enterprises under Polish Law

Under Polish law, citizen energy communities and social enterprises can be established in the legal form of a cooperative. The features of the citizen energy communities and social enterprises are similar and one can argue that they derive from the characteristics of cooperatives which are integral to the social economy. Therefore, a research question arises if a single cooperative can obtain both statuses: of a citizen energy community and a social enterprise. The article goal is to answer this research question. The research thesis states that energy transformation can be developed under the social economy and pursued by the cooperative social enterprise. Therefore, the social economy is a part ofthe twin transition – as part of the green transition. The article was prepared by the dogmatic-legal method of research.