Energy Democracy: Redistributing Power to the People Through Renewable Transformation

Stephens, Jennie C.

doi:10.1080/00139157.2019.1564212

Cited by 100 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The power and empowerment relationships of actors also emphasize the emerging and public/political nature of action and change [5]. Secondly, scholars have in recent years called for the incorporation of critical perspectives from the social sciences and humanities to transition studies of sociotechnical systems [9,10]. These approaches include just transitions to sustainability, a concept that, while still lacking consensus from scholars, incorporates a number of principles related to the effective participation of the constantly marginalized and oppressed sectors of society (women, indigenous communities, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”

et al. 2020

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Higher education institutions play an important role in the transition processes to sustainable development through developing critical thinking (CT) in their students. The case of the Research Methodology course of the International Cooperation Master’s degree at the Universitat Politècnica de València is a paradigmatic case of experiential learning, where students face their own realities related to sustainable topics through an action research project with the Agroecological Market (AM). The learning methodology is project-based learning and helps the participants to deeply analyze problems related to the transition of socio-technical systems, such as sustainable food. The objective of this research was to analyze the contribution of project-based learning to students’ critical thinking through a qualitative analysis of the pedagogical outputs obtained during the course. The analysis and results are structured in three dimensions of critical thinking: (i) students’ critical attitude towards reality; (ii) students’ ability to reason and analyze in order to form their own rigorous judgments; and (iii) students’ capacity to construct and deconstruct their own experiences and meanings. The results show that project-based learning using a real-life scenario helped students reflect on their critical thinking and the challenges that our societies face for a transition to sustainability.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”

et al. 2020

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“…Jenkins et al [16] describe how energy communities engage with different dimensions of energy justice, such as distributional energy justice (referring to divisions of costs and benefits) and procedural justice (power dynamics in decision-making). Community energy is viewed as a key component of 'energy democracy', a vision and movement which advocates redistributing power to the people through renewable transformation, for example by establishing community ownership of renewable energy assets and "locally-focused decision making reflecting local priorities" [17]. Research has shown that a mix of gain and normative considerations, and, to a lesser extent, hedonistic motivations (such as having fun and community cohesion), play a role in householders deciding to engage with community energy [18].…”

Section: Prosumers As Energy Community Membersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Platforms in Power: Householder Perspectives on the Social, Environmental and Economic Challenges of Energy Platforms

Smale

Kloppenburg

2020

Sustainability

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New business models and digital infrastructures, in the form of ‘energy platforms’, are emerging as part of a transition towards decarbonised, decentralised, and digitised energy systems. These energy platforms offer new ways for householders to trade or exchange energy with other households or with energy system actors, but also bring along challenges. This paper examines how householders engage with potential environmental, social, and economic opportunities and risks of energy platforms. We convened two serious-game style workshops in which Dutch frontrunner householders assumed the role of platform members and were challenged to deliberate about different scenarios and issues. The workshop results, while explorative in nature, are indicative of a willingness to pursue energy system integration rather than autarky or grid defection. The idea of energy platforms as vehicles for energy justice appealed less to the householders, although the participants were moderately interested in sharing surplus renewable energy. Finally, environmental motivations were of key importance in householders’ evaluation of different platform types. This shows that in the role of energy platform members, householders can engage with both the community and the grid in new and different ways, leading to a diversity of possible outcomes for householder engagement.

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“…There has been growing research and practice, notably in the last two decades, attempting to tackle energy transition discussions in a more democratic, equitable, just and sustainable manner. Negative socio-ecological impacts of fossil based economies have been mirrored though extractive modes of production leading to environmental conflicts (Martinez-Alier, 2009;Scheidel, et al, 2020), unequal ecological exchange (Hornborg, 2011) and corporate profits of multinationals that have been perpetuating inequalities and exacerbating disparate vulnerabilities around communities around the world (Stephens, 2019). As a response, energy democracy has emerged as a politically loaded response referring to a process, an outcome or a goal depending on the context it is used (Szulecki and Overland, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Democratizing Energy, Energizing Democracy: Central Dimensions Surfacing in the Debate

2020

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This perspective piece sets out to contribute to the academic and practitioner debates around energy transitions and democracy initiatives in the age of a climate crisis. For tackling present-day energy challenges in a democratic, equitable and just manner, critical social science and humanities research on meaning and materialities, new actors and narratives, values and democracy is indispensable. In doing so, we centralize our work around three fundamental axes: The Concept, reflecting on the energy itself and revitalizing its essence; The Political, embracing the value laden, political and gendered nature of energy, and recognizing citizens' initiatives as counter currents to centralized energy decision-making; and The People, anticipating the far right's posttruth narratives that jeopardize planetary futures. We contend that "normative, political and embodied" research and praxis can serve for diversifying the energy transition debate as well as energizing bottom-up community led initiatives in order to democratize the energy playing field of recent times.

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Energy Democracy: Redistributing Power to the People Through Renewable Transformation

Cited by 100 publications

References 11 publications

Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”

Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”

Platforms in Power: Householder Perspectives on the Social, Environmental and Economic Challenges of Energy Platforms

Democratizing Energy, Energizing Democracy: Central Dimensions Surfacing in the Debate

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