Community versus local energy in a context of climate emergency

Devine‐Wright, Patrick

doi:10.1038/s41560-019-0459-2

Cited by 98 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…CRE refers to renewable energy schemes whether run by a community, involving a community, affecting local residents, or simply labelled community. While problematic to define (for good reasons), community here gestures towards a form of decentralised energy production, distribution, and consumption, and also a greater degree of involvement of citizens in previously expert‐centred, technologically advanced, and distant/invisible energy distribution (Creamer et al 2018, 2019; Devine‐Wright 2019; Walker and Devine‐Wright 2008).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Postcolonial Critique of Community Energy: Searching for Community as Solidarity in India and Scotland

Kumar

Aiken

2020

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Community renewable energy (CRE) represents a growing empirical and academic turn towards community-based sustainability and climate change interventions. This paper brings together postcolonial theory and CRE for the first time to outline fundamental tensions in the conceptualisation and application of the idea of community. The understanding of community within the CRE discourse is largely: (1) location-based; and/or (2) a community of choice that is consciously opted into. Driven by postcolonial theory, this paper counterpoises both as a form of community as contract against an idea of community as solidarity. Its central thesis is that actually existing community, contrary to how the bulk of CRE literature commonly understands it, is a combination of bonds of solidarity and emergent purposes. The paper conceptualises community as fluid bonds of solidarity that align and realign differently around different purposes. R esum e: L' energie renouvelable communautaire (CRE) repr esente de plus en plus un virage empirique et acad emique en direction d'interventions communautaires de d eveloppement durable et de lutte contre le changement climatique. Cet article fait dialoguer pour la premi ere fois la th eorie postcoloniale et l'approche CRE afin de souligner les tensions fondamentales dans la conceptualisation et l'application de l'id ee de communaut e. La compr ehension de la communaut e dans le discours de la CRE est largement bas ee sur: (1) le local, le lieu, ou la localisation; et / ou (2) une communaut e de choix qui est d elib er ement choisie. Inspir e par la th eorie postcoloniale, cet article s'oppose a ces deux acceptations de la communaut e comme contrat pour proposer l'id ee de communaut e comme solidarit e. La th ese centrale de l'article est que contrairement au sens donn e la plupart du temps par la litt erature traitant de la CRE, la communaut e r eellement existante est une combinaison de liens de solidarit e et de finalit es emergentes. L'article conceptualise la communaut e comme des liens fluides de solidarit e qui s'alignent et se r ealignent diff eremment autour de diff erents objectifs.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In community renewable energy (CRE) literature, community has been predominantly understood as “area‐ or place‐based systems of provision” (Devine‐Wright 2019:894). Where there are exceptions to location‐based community, community coalesces around and is purposively put to use pursuing particular energy projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Postcolonial Critique of Community Energy: Searching for Community as Solidarity in India and Scotland

Kumar

Aiken

2020

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“…These issues also broadly connect to debates around just transitions in local energy schemes [60] , whereby new low-carbon jobs, procedural engagement and opportunities for learning are ensured for the communities in which future projects are situated. As community energy schemes begin to plateau and local energy schemes take a leading role in energy decentralisation processes [13] , it will be vital for local energy strategies and policies to consider active participant approaches in policy.…”

Section: Conclusion: Embedding the Benefits Of Low-carbon Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather than being a core focus of UK energy policy, it is still somewhat marginalised and lacking a comprehensive regulatory framework and strategic direction. In addition, the UK policy framework for decentralised energy has begun to shift away from community energy towards ‘local energy’ more broadly, in which partnerships between public and private actors, alongside emphasis on the role of local authorities, play a key role in energy decentralisation initiatives and processes [13] , [14] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximities of energy justice: contesting community energy and austerity in England

Lacey-Barnacle

2020

Energy Research & Social Science

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Highlights Novel application of four energy justice tenets to energy decentralisation. Analyses interplay between deprivation, geography and community-led transitions. Empirical data links spatial (in)justice to low-carbon infrastructure siting. Shows how energy transitions can assist deprived communities in regeneration plans. Highlights benefits of ‘active participant’ approach to community energy engagement.

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“…Currently, the energy system is at a crossroads and is going through rapid techno-economical and socio-institutional changes both at the central and the local level [1][2][3][4][5]. New distributed energy resources such as solar photovoltaics, wind and energy storage technologies are emerging in the energy landscape [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat

2020

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With energy transition gaining momentum, energy storage technologies are increasingly spotlighted as they can effectively handle mismatches in supply and demand. The decreasing cost of distributed energy generation technologies and energy storage technologies as well as increasing demand for local flexibility is opening up new possibilities for the deployment of energy storage technologies in local energy communities. In this context, community energy storage has potential to better integrate energy supply and demand at the local level and can contribute towards accommodating the needs and expectations of citizens and local communities as well as future ecological needs. However, there are techno-economical and socio-institutional challenges of integrating energy storage technologies in the largely centralized present energy system, which demand socio-technical innovation. To gain insight into these challenges, this article studies the technical, demand and political articulations of new innovative local energy storage technologies based on an embedded case study approach. The innovation dynamics of two local energy storage innovations, the seasalt battery of DrTen® and the seasonal thermal storage Ecovat®, are analysed. We adopt a co-shaping perspective for understanding innovation dynamics as a result of the socio-institutional dynamics of alignment of various actors, their articulations and the evolving network interactions. Community energy storage necessitates thus not only technical innovation but, simultaneously, social innovation for its successful adoption. We will assess these dynamics also from the responsible innovation framework that articulates various forms of social, environmental and public values. The socio-technical alignment of various actors, human as well as material, is central in building new socio-technical configurations in which the new storage technology, the community and embedded values are being developed.

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Community versus local energy in a context of climate emergency

Cited by 98 publications

References 18 publications

A Postcolonial Critique of Community Energy: Searching for Community as Solidarity in India and Scotland

A Postcolonial Critique of Community Energy: Searching for Community as Solidarity in India and Scotland

Proximities of energy justice: contesting community energy and austerity in England

Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat

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