## 2 Detailed Analysis of the Literature
### Prosumer Communities
#### 2.1.1 Prosumer Definitions, Objectives, and Motivations  
\"Prosumer\" refers to \"an energy user who generates renewable energy in his/her domestic environment and either store the surplus energy for future use or trades to interested energy customers  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Literature Area** & **Relevant Literature** \\ \hline \multicolumn{2}{c}{Prosumer communities} \\ \hline Prosumer definitions, objectives, motivations & [4, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36] \\ Prosumer roles & [7, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51] \\ Prosumer community/Coalition formation & [4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 4  
in smart grid [4].\" Hence, the objective of these prosumers is to produce and consume energy, as well as share and redistribute excess energy to other users in the grid [15; 16]. We can also find other definitions of prosumers in the prosumer literature [15; 16]. In general, all these definitions of prosumers refer to energy users who produce energy that are consumed within the grid.  
A next related concept is a group of prosumers participating in energy provisioning. PCG refers to \"a network of prosumers, having relatively similar energy sharing behaviors, who endeavor to pursue a mutual goal and jointly compete in the energy market [7].\" Another closely related concept is Electricity Prosumer Communities (EPCs) which are \"groups of people producing, sharing, and consuming electricity locally [17].\" Other authors have used terms such as Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICESs) [18; 19; 20; 21] and Clean Energy Communities (CECs) [22] to refer to the same concept. The primary difference between PCG's and other prosumer communities is that in a PCG, the formation of groups or coalitions is based on mutual goals. We discuss further details about PCG in the Prosumer Community subsection.  
Prosumers are different from traditional energy consumers. Compared to the traditional consumers who use energy from the grid, prosumers generate, consume and actively transfer or store excess energy [8; 23]. Prosumers can also store excess energy using Energy Storage System for future use, or sell the surplus energy to the grid or nearby consumers [24]. Prosumers use smart meters during energy production and integrate these devices with household energy management systems [9; 25; 26], energy storage systems [27; 28; 29], electric vehicles [30; 31; 32], and vehicle-to-grid systems [33; 34] to efficiently integrate into the smart grid [16].  
Comparisons between prosumer based smart grids and conventional grids show that prosumers improve efficiency in the energy system through various means. These include enhancing the operation of household appliances through smart devices and communication technologies, offering storage capacity to help manage power fluctuations, and supporting the balance of local demand and supply [16].  
The shift from being passive consumers into active prosumers maximizes a variety of economic [34], operational and environmental benefits in the areas of micro-generation, demand reduction, demand response [34], data management [34; 35], and energy storage [36]. Various factors influence this transformation such as new technologies (smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure [25; 26], energy displays, and smart appliances), implementation of cost-efficient energy saving measures, government incentive schemes to encourage participation in the energy system, and strong public stance to alleviate harmful environmental effects [8; 36]. Hence, we propose the following:  
**Proposition 1**.: _Prosumer communities aim to transform traditional consumers to become active prosumers thereby improving the efficiency of the smart grid and offering economic, operational and environmental benefits._