Search

Coupling innovations in everyday social and technological practices to close energy poverty delivers local sustainable development. Although case studies on the linkages between energy access and sustainable development had been far-reaching, we know very little about their interactions in everyday practices, such as cooking. A focus on access to renewable energy for everyday activities as cooking has substantial implications for the energy justice principles of equity, accessibility, and affordability. Energy justice underlines the necessity for all people to have access to energy services fairly. At the same time, one should ensure that these energy systems do not inflict damage upon the present and future generations. This paper used a Grounded Theory approach to show how an energy transition in everyday practices such as cooking can deliver just, local, sustainable development while emerging as a sociotechnical innovation in rural Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy transition has provided a framework for designing and implementing renewable energy policies in a growing number of countries in recent years. The discourse from both international energy organisations and national governments around these renewable energy policies highlights its -supposed- sustainable nature. However, much evidence shows that the "renewable" component of these energy policies and the impact on local communities' sustainable development are much smaller than what is claimed in their discourse. This paper analyses the Mazar-Dudas hydropower project (Ecuador) case study, which is officially classified as a small renewable energy project (21 MW) with presumable low environmental impact and significant positive effects on sustainability of local communities. Although, the sustainability associated with hydropower production is one of the most controversial aspects of this energy production technology. Based on interviews with relevant actors and the subsequent thematic content analysis, the results highlight that the environmental impact is perceived as significant, contrary to what it is said in the official discourse. Additionally, the benefit-sharing scheme's effects of this hydropower project are far below expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009 the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) was founded by several, predominant German enterprises. The objective of DII was to organise the conditions for the realisation of the Desertec idea, which aimed to both (a) supply Europe, in a large-scale manner, with electricity produced in solar power plants in North Africa and the Arabic peninsula and (b) contribute to the self-supply of the Middle East North Africa region (MENA). Protagonists of the desert energy idea saw this megatechnic project as a starting point for a new trans-Mediterranean EU-MENA union, critics in contrast as a neo-colonial project. Disputes over the adequate interpretation and implementation of the Desertec idea broke out from the beginning. In 2014/2015, the media talked of the failure of DII and of the Desertec concept. The majority of the members left DII at the end of 2014. On the other hand, in some MENA countries renewables are playing a crucial role in securing the future of the energy sector. This paper analyses the development of DII and the Desertec idea by using concepts from Social Studies in Technology, and especially by the multi-level perspective approach in Transition Studies. It shows how the interplay of different factors, such as technological developments, entrepreneurial performances and political processes, lead to internal conflicts and the non-realisation - up to now - of related large-scale energy projects. As an important aspect of the paper, different understandings of the future of our energy supply and of North-South relations are presented in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, there now exist hundreds of low-carbon community groups (LCCGs) that aim to decrease collective resource consumption and/or generate renewable energy through diverse social and environmental interventions. These groups have in recent years become the subject of political attention and funding schemes, underpinned by beliefs that LCCGs are key to fostering resilience to climate change and meeting national-level greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. While previous research into LCCGs has focused on drivers, barriers and outcomes of LCCG action, there is now growing policy and academic interest in groups' capacities for, and uses of, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes and tools. However, little is known about the experiences, opportunities and potential challenges for LCCGs undertaking M&E. In response, this paper draws on a Knowledge Exchange project that explored M&E processes and tools with a sample of UK LCCGs. It outlines the benefits and drawbacks of groups' attempts to achieve change and to account for their outcomes and/or impacts, individually, and as part of a wider movement. It argues that, while M&E could be one way for groups to “scale up” their impact without losing their grounding in place and community, issues of capacity, resources and utility remain paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The development of fracking in the UK is at a crucial stage, with the industry seemingly on the brink of entering an operational phase. Despite this major development, analyses of its ethical dimensions have been limited. Concepts of environmental justice have been applied to the case of fracking to evaluate the ethicality of its development in the UK. However, these have tended to focus on a narrow range of environmental justice considerations. I argue that an expanded environmental justice frame can supplement existing contributions and provide a unified frame through which the ethicality of fracking in the UK can be further examined and evaluated. The paper applies an expanded environmental justice frame, which encompasses themes of distribution, procedure, recognition and capabilities. Considerations of justice as distribution highlight the unjust distribution of basic rights and the insufficiency of compensating benefits for the communities set to host fracking. An application of procedural justice questions whether community consent, even if present, would make fracking permissible when it is perceived as a solution to economic deprivation. I then argue that fracking in the UK constitutes an injustice as misrecognition, given its devaluation of communities through a neoliberal value system. An application of justice as capabilities frame outlines the risk of fracking being inconsistent with meeting basic needs for the functioning of individuals and communities, particularly in rural areas. Finally, climate and intergenerational justice are drawn upon to highlight the ability of the frame to incorporate these further justice considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of their democratic governance and value-driven approach cooperatives are often regarded as a prime example for alternative economies and contributing to (more) equitable economic development. Furthermore, they theoretically combine production and consumption and are often regionally-oriented. The recent boom of German renewable-energy cooperatives provides an interesting example of how cooperatives can also make an important contribution to sustainable development, here the German energy transition, and its social acceptance. The paper will first show how a specific regulatory environment supported this development and then analyse how German energy cooperatives cope with legal changes leading to less favourable institutional conditions. Based on a comprehensive survey, we examine whether they can, apart from their legal form, be regarded as alternative economies. Our analysis is guided by a set of criteria derived from Gibson-Graham’s diverse-economies framework, including voluntary and paid work, (origin of) borrowed capital, size and structure of membership, business goals and strategies, especially after the legal changes, as well as regional orientation. We will show how different categories of German energy cooperatives differ with regard to their business models, alternative-economy characteristics and coping strategies. The future development of energy cooperatives in Germany will very likely be as diverse as their recent history, thus illustrating the diversity of alternative-economy organisations as stipulated by Gibson-Graham. Most of them, however, deal with the new regulatory environment pro-actively and are developing business models, which are independent from public support and might lead to new cooperative strategies at the shifting interfaces between state, market and civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a considerable emphasis on delivering major renewable energy infrastructure projects. Such projects will have impacts on local communities; some impacts may be perceived as positive but others will be viewed more negatively. Any just regulatory process for considering and permitting such infrastructure will need to heed the concerns that local communities voice. But what counts as a local voice? In this paper it is argued that the regulatory process plays a performative role, constructing what counts as a local voice. Furthermore, this has consequences for how regulatory deliberations proceed and the outcomes of regulatory processes. The empirical basis for this argument is a study of major offshore renewable energy infrastructure in England and Wales and the way that it is regulated through a specific regime - the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) regime established by the Planning Act 2008. Through a detailed study of eight projects that have passed through the regime, the analysis unfolds the way that the voices of local residents, local businesses, local NGOs and local authorities are constructed in the key boundary object of the Examining Authority’s report; it then draws out the implications for the mitigation measures that are negotiated. The research suggests that what counts as a local voice is constrained by how the performative role of the NSIPs regulatory regime differentiates between interests and suggests that new ways of giving voice to local people are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how 10 localities in the USA and England, recognised as leaders in clean energy and climate action, have used collaborative approaches to develop local climate change plans and energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy initiatives. It examines these planning and policy-making processes in the context of Margerum's [2008. A typology of collaboration efforts in environmental management.Environmental Management, 41 (4), 487–500] typology of “action”, “organizational”, and “policy-level” collaborations, as well as Gray's [1989.Collaborating: finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass] classification of collaboration in the “problem-setting”, “direction-setting”, and “implementation” phases. We conducted interviews with local elected officials, municipal staff, energy professionals, and citizen volunteers in each community, supplemented with an analysis of their adopted energy, climate change, and land-use plans. We find that despite the different government structures and political contexts between the two countries, there was a surprising amount of commonality in how the case study localities used collaborative planning to develop local climate plans and clean energy initiatives. These processes were most often initiated by local elected officials and/or high-level staff members, and then carried out in collaboration with local third-sector organisations and other community stakeholders. In the USA, collaboration was strongest at the policy level and in the direction-setting phase, with the distinguishing feature that citizen advisory boards or stakeholder working groups often took a more active role in shaping local plans and policies. The English localities had some of those same types of collaborations, but were more likely to also employ action collaboration, in the implementation phase, in which third-sector organisations coordinated with the locality to directly provide clean energy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote or off-grid communities in Canada primarily rely on diesel generators for the provision of their electricity. Often surrounded by potential renewable resources, they are characterised as the low-hanging fruit of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies. While much is said about the promises of community energy projects, as well as technologies and policy mechanisms for addressing the needs of these communities, little attention has been paid to what communities, themselves, might want for their energy projects and what the implications of those desires might be for both technology development and community energy policies. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring the on-going energy pursuits of a number of remote First Nations communities in British Columbia. It identifies a desire for community self-sufficiency as a primary motivation for engaging with energy projects on the part of the communities and discusses the various meanings and implications of self-sufficiency in the context of community energy projects. These meanings and implications primarily include the two dimensions of material self-sufficiency and political self-determination, the latter of which suggests a view of community energy projects as processes of decolonisation among First Nation communities in British Columbia. It then suggests that the pursuit of this goal is somewhat incongruent with the approach that government and industry have taken in addressing community energy, especially the way in which remote communities are viewed as the low-hanging fruit of various sustainability projects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Micro- and small-scale low-carbon energy generators embedded within villages, towns and cities can provide a valuable income stream for local communities among other potential benefits. There are a range of social, political, technical and environmental factors that may impact upon the success of a planned energy generation project; however, these factors are rarely considered in unison. The aim of this research is to investigate and understand the concerns relating to equity and distributional justice that impact upon local groups interested in developing energy projects and to determine whether a whole systems approach can be used to draw out perceived issues. This has been achieved by working with two small village groups to test a newly developed energy equity assessment tool. This paper reports research findings from two villages in the UK both planning energy projects that intended to benefit their respective villages and examines perceived issues relating to equity and distributional justice associated with the proposed schemes. The research highlights some challenges facing community groups when planning micro- and small-scale energy projects and demonstrates the commitment, tenacity and high levels of personal risk that these groups have to bear in order to bring their projects to fruition and comments as to the type of actions that may be required to more wholly consider equity issues while developing future energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent surge of studies from Europe has shown that membership bodies of community renewable energy (CRE) initiatives predominantly consist of affluent white men. This demographic concentration points at a disconnect between CRE activity and its often-assumed potential in simultaneously advancing decarbonisation and social justice. Through a triangulation of documentary policy analysis and interviews with leading members (N = 11) of renewable energy co-operatives (RE co-ops) in Ontario, Canada, this qualitative study sets out to identify factors driving the exclusion of marginalised and frontline communities from CRE initiatives. Findings reveal that a combination of inadequate policy support and complex preparatory activities in Ontario geared the pursuit of CRE development towards affluent, professional class groups with access to necessary practical capacities. To add insult to injury, RE co-ops responded to this precarious policy and regulatory environment by increasing their minimum investment requirements and targeting affluent individuals in their outreach activities, which rendered CRE ownership even more exclusionary for marginalised groups and resulted in the exacerbation of existing inequities between and within communities. Overall, this study reinforces the importance of marginalised groups' engagement in policy design processes and of explicitly addressing practical capacity inequities between and within communities to ensure just outcomes of CRE policies and activity. Further, it problematises the promotion of CRE activity through competitive energy procurement policies such as feed-in tariffs (FITs) as inherently advantageous for groups with greater and more immediate access to practical capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy often provokes heated debate on climate change, energy security and the local impacts of developments. However, how far such discussions involve thorough and inclusive debate on the energy and environmental-social justice issues associated with renewable energy siting remains ambiguous, particularly where government agendas prioritise renewable energy and planning systems offer limited opportunities for public debate on value-based arguments for and against renewable energy developments. Using the concept of justice self-recognition, we argue for greater attention to public discussion of the justice dimensions of renewable energy to assist in developing mechanisms to integrate distributive and procedural fairness principles into renewable energy decision-making. To explore how justice is currently invoked in such contexts, we examine recent U.K. policies for renewable energy and public submissions to applications for small-scale wind energy projects in Cornwall, U.K. The analysis of public comments revealed that justice concerns were rarely discussed explicitly. Comments instead did not raise concerns as justice issues or focused implicitly on distributive justice, stressing local aesthetic, community and economic impacts, clean energy and climate change. However, the findings indicated limited discussion of procedural or participatory justice, an absence that hampers the establishment of coherent procedures for deciding acceptable impacts, information standards, public participation and arbitrating disputes. We conclude by suggesting procedural reforms to policy and planning to enable greater public expression of justice concerns and debate on how to negotiate tensions between energy and environmental-social justice in renewable energy siting decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research into renewable energy adoption is increasingly identifying that the successful implementation of renewable energy projects is influenced by a combination of market, community and socio-political acceptance of renewable energy technology. This research uses case studies in two regional Australian communities to examine the social acceptance of residential solar energy, in particular under the influence of financial incentives and social interactions. Fifty-five semi-structured interviews with members of the local community, industry and government were undertaken between May and October 2015. Respondents were asked about their perceptions and knowledge of solar energy and incentives to support its adoption, and their interactions with actors important in the diffusion process. Responses indicated that financial incentives motivated solar adoption; however, social interactions in the communities also contributed to decision-making. In one case study, a local “solar champion” built a private solar farm to demonstrate the technical feasibility of solar, assisted community members with physically installing their own systems and helped community members to maximise the financial benefits of their solar installations. This solar champion contributed to this community having an earlier and more rapid rate of small-scale solar adoption compared with the second case study community. The second case study community included two individuals interested in promoting solar energy; however, they were less integrated with the community’s process of adopting solar, resulting in community members experiencing substandard installations and consequent distrust of the solar industry. This research concludes that local context influences solar adoption through complex interactions among market, community and socio-political acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations. Previous research in grassroots innovations has largely focused on conceptualising such initiatives and analysing their potential for replication and diffusion; there has been less research in the politics involved in these initiatives. We examine grassroots innovations as forms of political engagement that is different from the 1970s’ alternative technology movements. Through an analysis of community-run Energy Cafés in the United Kingdom, we argue that while present-day grassroots innovations appear less explicitly political than their predecessors, they can still represent a form of political participation. Through the analytical lens of material politics, we investigate how Energy Cafés engage in diverse – explicit and implicit, more or less conscious – forms of political engagement. In particular, their work to “demystify” clients’ energy bills can unravel into various forms of advocacy and engagement with energy technologies and practices in the home. Some Energy Café practices also make space for a needs-driven approach that acknowledges the embeddedness of energy in the household and wider society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental justice is critical to our efforts to preserve the human habitat from the degradation of pollution and climate change because of the need for cooperation and due to our ignorance of how the intertwined effects of our actions in one locality affect the quality of life in other localities across the world. While environmental justice questions are often focused on the location choices for specific activities that pollute, another important perspective is environmental justice over the life cycle of the production of products. Upon close examination renewable energies, critical alternatives to the fossil fuels which induce climate change, have environmental justice issues over their life cycles. Formal, statutory national law is not sufficient to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles in a world in which production is globalised and environmental effects pass beyond political borders. The responses to this challenge must draw on an interacting combination of information, custom, soft law, such as international standards and certification, and formal national laws. Through an interesting complex of intertwined effects, this system has already advanced our capacity to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles. The magnitude of the challenge and the complexity of the system demand ongoing effort and further innovation. Also, the system is not well configured to address our burgeoning consumption which continues to expand the burdens of future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As provinces across Canada seek to diversify their domestic electricity supply and cope with the accelerating effects of anthropogenic climate change, new models of sustainability-focused economic development are being pursued. One critically important emerging paradigm involves First Nation (a Canadian term for indigenous) collaboration and leadership in renewable energy projects. In this comparative case study analysis, we consider two different governance approaches pursued in distinct renewable energy project contexts: the clean energy projects of the Ojibway Pic River First Nation band in northwestern Ontario and the NaiKun Offshore Wind Project proposed in the ocean territory of the Haida Nation off the coast of British Columbia (BC). Focusing on themes of participation and multi-level governance, the case studies highlight the importance of authority and control in decision processes, the primacy of ensuring that scale and quality of design are carefully scoped, and the shaping role of inclusiveness in planning for wholly sustainable energy futures. Taken together, these cases illustrate that fluid governance arrangements which exploit the particular capacities of each actor may give rise to trust that ultimately forms the foundation of a co-produced model of renewable energy governance. We argue that while collaboration might aim to be inclusive of all interested actors, it is important to consider the extent to which a project design might sufficiently incorporate a community's long-term vision. We conclude that truly sustainable renewable energy development requires a project design that reflects community values, incorporates community control, and incentivises indigenous ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Community-based renewable energy could help in achieving energy targets and altering energy behaviours. It has been found in other studies that the extent to which local residents are involved in a scheme, either through ownership or active participation, can be the key to acceptance and increasing energy awareness. Here, we explore motivations and barriers to involvement with residents in three communities in Cumbria, UK. The study uses questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to explore themes of ownership, levels of involvement and community cohesion, and examines how these influence residents’ willingness to accept or participate in a local initiative. Through exploring these themes we additionally find that residents hold place-based attachments to both physical attributes and social interactions within the community. These attachments appear to be influential in residents' willingness to participate in local renewable projects and in acceptance of certain renewable technologies. For instance, there was overwhelming support for localised hydropower due to the historical legacy of industrialised water-power use in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]