1. Testing the social, organizational, and governance factors for success in local low carbon energy initiatives
- Author
-
Beau Warbroek, Frans Coenen, Thomas Hoppe, Hans Bressers, and Department of Governance and Technology for Sustainability
- Subjects
Renewable energy ,020209 energy ,Energy (esotericism) ,Low carbon ,UT-Hybrid-D ,Energy Engineering and Power Technology ,02 engineering and technology ,Community energy ,010501 environmental sciences ,Cooperatives ,01 natural sciences ,Intermediary ,Customer base ,Social capital ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Governance ,Public economics ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,business.industry ,Corporate governance ,Local community ,Fuel Technology ,Nuclear Energy and Engineering ,Local government ,Business ,Intermediaries ,Social Sciences (miscellaneous) - Abstract
Evidence from academic studies that analyze social and institutional factors that influence success with community energy projects is scarce. To address this, we pose the question: What are the social, organizational, and governance factors that explain success with ‘local low-carbon energy initiatives’ (LLCEIs)? To answer this question, claims were first established pertaining to three groups of social factors: i.e. (i) those related to the LLCEI itself; (ii) factors related to the interaction between an LLCEI and the local community; and (iii) the presence of supportive governance settings and linkages with local government and intermediaries. These were analyzed using a variable-oriented cross-case design involving fourteen LLCEIs in the Dutch Province of Fryslân. Results show that there is a difference in the sets of factors that positively correlate with various measures of LLCEI success. Factors related to the LLCEI (i.e. internal organizational factors) correlate with collective energy projects and to a lesser extent with individual projects realized. Items related to interactions of the LLCEI with the local community primarily correlate with the customer base and to a lesser extent with individual projects realized. Finally, items related to the governance setting correlate most strongly with individual projects realized.
- Published
- 2019