China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Social sciences introduction. Local energy communities
Published in Gilles Debizet, Marta Pappalardo, Frédéric Wurtz, Local Energy Communities, 2023
Gilles Debizet, Marta Pappalardo
French studies analyse the socio-economic forms of energy-producing communities, whether they are cooperatives, mixed economy companies or associations. The local level, considered as a space for the deployment of renewable energies, requires an adaptation of the energy project (Dobigny, 2012; Fontaine and Labussière, 2019; Nadaï et al., 2015). This research highlights the transcalar processes of trial and error and risk-taking that give these initiatives a political dimension that is opposed to national energy policy (Cointe, 2016). This research explores the transformative power of energy communities and even the establishment of an energy democracy. Through the control of energy infrastructures, citizen participation and the local distribution of benefits, energy communities are asserting themselves as alternative spaces to socio-economic and market models (Wokuri, 2021). These experiences are, however, strongly conditioned by the political and economic systems of the country where they emerge (Wokuri, 2019).
Delivering sustainable energy access
Published in Anne Schiffer, Reframing Energy Access, 2020
In Europe and the US, energy democracy is seen as a way to integrate “policies linking social justice and economic equity with renewable energy transitions” (Burke and Stephens, 2017). Here, community energy initiatives provide structures to ensure communities have access to and reap greater benefits from renewable energy sources.5 In community energy, emphasis is put on people’s (collective) participation in the energy market as ‘prosumers’ and as active citizens that are empowered often through local initiatives. Community energy can be defined through a number of shared characteristics including: “Ordinary people or citizens are involved in running the project through community groups”; “there is a co-operative, democratic or specifically non-corporate structure”; “there are tangible local benefits to people living or working close to projects” and “the profits go back to the community or are re-invested in other community energy schemes” (Schiffer, 2014, p. 4).6
Conclusion
Published in Andrea Bues, Social Movements against Wind Power in Canada and Germany, 2020
What lesson can be drawn for a successful implementation of renewable energy and other decarbonization projects in general? Regarding decentralized renewable energy projects, priority should be given to community projects that incorporate the idea of “energy democracy”. This includes popular sovereignty, participatory governance and civic ownership (Szulecki 2017). A related concept is “energy justice”, which includes distributive and procedural justice, but also justice with regard to global externalities and the recognition of vulnerable groups (Sovacool et al. 2019). Support programs and consultancy work can help with the set-up of projects that embrace these principles. Experiences from other cases and countries regarding implementation barriers and solutions to possible conflicts should be included in the design of such projects. Furthermore, adjacent policy sectors should be streamlined in order not to inhibit the meaningful participation of communities. In Germany for example, the financial participation of host municipalities to wind turbines is often made difficult by sectoral laws pertaining to the officially allowed municipal revenues. Additionally, a system perspective should be adopted that integrates the heating and transportation sector as well. This will increase credibility of renewable energy policies. A system perspective furthermore does not stop at the urban boundary. Urban areas should be encouraged to contribute to energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energy generation in order not to place the burden exclusively on rural areas. For instance, rooftop photovoltaic is still an untapped source of power in most cities. While these recommendations represent institutional options to shape the turn towards renewable energy in an equitable way, the fate of renewable energy programs will ultimately also depend on whether favorable discourses about them prevail in a society.
Peer-to-peer electricity trading and the sharing economy: social, markets and regulatory perspectives
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2022
Alexandra Schneiders, Michael J. Fell, Colin Nolden
Peer-to-peer electricity trading, currently at a pre-competitive stage, could become an important part of the future energy system. Proponents argue that it is a promising way of meeting renewable energy and climate targets, supporting energy democracy and participatory governance and a means to help balance supply and demand in an increasingly decentralized energy grid.
Sustainable and socially just transition to a post-lignite era in Greece: a multi-level perspective
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2020
Alexandros Nikas, Hera Neofytou, Anastasios Karamaneas, Konstantinos Koasidis, John Psarras
Law 4513/2018 cultivated the conditions for the implementation of energy cooperatives in the energy system, boosting energy democracy and enabling local authorities to participate in the production of energy. In 2018, two new private suppliers entered the market and the first interconnection with non-interconnection islands in the Cyclades took place.
Assessing energy misperception in Europe: evidence from the European social survey
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2022
Alessia Casamassima, Pasquale Marcello Falcone, Alessandro Sapio, Paola Tiranzoni
In exploring the role of individual values in shaping energy source preferences, it is worth referencing the concept of energy justice. Sovacool and Dworkin (2015) defined energy justice as a global energy tenet based on fairness and equity (aimed at disseminating both the benefits and the costs of energy services), as well as representative and impartial energy decision-making. Energy justice incorporates the issues of scarcity and pollution by focusing on energy decision-making and the societal implications of such decision-making, though the lens of intra- and intergenerational justice (Islar, Brogaard, and Lemberg-Pedersen 2017). In this vein, we expected that sensitivity to equity might impact individual preferences for the energy mix. For example, some countries cannot quickly abandon fossil fuels without negatively affecting (low-income) workers in the sector. Hence, individuals who are sensitive to equity issues may be prudent about energy transitions and express preferences for energy sources that underline equity and justice (i.e. a preference for fossil fuels over renewable sources). Egalitarians may also be more likely to support energy sources that limit exposure to climate change risks for lower socio-economic groups, in order to reduce inequalities (Lacroix and Gifford 2018). Indeed, advocates of energy democracy claim that, since the energy transition is essentially a political struggle, efforts to decarbonize and reduce dependence on fossil fuels cannot be effective without challenging and destabilizing dominant systems of energy power (Burke and Stephens 2018). In this context, political ideology can be seen to affect energy attitudes and choices (Gromet, Kunreuther, and Larrick 2013)9A genuine political challenge is created when “left collectives” envisage strategies to build new political habits grounded in an eco-imperative to protect the environment and produce energy equality across the globe (Szeman and Diamanti, 2017).