Governing the Transition of Socio-technical Systems: A Case Study of the Development of Smart Grids in Korea

Mah, Daphne Ngar‐yin; Vleuten, J.M. van der; Ip, Jasper Chi-man; Hills, Peter

doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-6281-0_13

Cited by 64 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Energy transitions have a number of unique characteristics that distinguish them from other types of transition or behaviour change in different domains (Geels, 2011;Verbong and Geels, 2010;Mah et al, 2012;Markusson et al, 2012). The first is that they tend to be purposive, driven by pressing environmental issues and sustainability goals that are expressed through national and international pressure.…”

Section: Socio-technical Transitions In Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging energy transitions: PV uptake beyond subsidies

Ford

Walton

Stephenson

et al. 2017

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

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a b s t r a c tIn the past decade there has been a substantial increase in the uptake of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems globally, which is starting to impact upon traditional electricity systems. An emerging energy transition is being driven by actions taken by actors at the grassroots level, and enabled by declining technology costs and new niche business models. However, to date, most work exploring change in energy systems has tended to focus on technological innovation and economic processes, leaving social aspects and daily activities under-addressed. Similarly, most theories that consider individual behaviour have tended to neglect the wider system of change. This paper presents an approach for simultaneously exploring behavioural and systemic change and demonstrates its use in a case study of PV uptake in New Zealand. The Energy Cultures framework is used alongside the Multi-Level Perspective of socio-technical transitions to examine the broad range of factors driving, shaping, and constraining PV uptake, and the interactions between global and national landscapes, the socio-technical regime within which users are taking action, and the niche opportunities emerging. Taking an integrating approach allows these perspectives to be brought together, providing valuable insights as to how adoption might be promoted or constrained, and the implications this may have for the future management of electricity grids.

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Section: Socio-technical Transitions In Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging energy transitions: PV uptake beyond subsidies

Ford

Walton

Stephenson

et al. 2017

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Another solution (especially in North America) would be to avoid grid malfunctions (mostly during consumption peaks) and the high costs of the associated blackouts, by renewing aging grids. By seeking solutions to the tricky equation of matching electricity supply and demand, it has appeared that smart grid is a possible and realistic option [41,60]. Thus, for 10 years, real enthusiasm for smart grid has emerged all around the world-perceptible through the high number of dedicated publications, reports, strategic displays, and R&D projects-mainly conveyed by related industries, public administrations and politicians, all awaiting economic and environmental profits [50,63].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, national specificities (such as national energy mix, industrial policies, polity and corporate governance structure) have long favored the scattering of technological expertise into separate locations. This results in preventing the current homogenization of the smart grid concept [13,41,50]. As a result, it appears that smart grid deployment cannot be homogeneous worldwide because it is more likely to depend on the technical characteristics and specific structure of each electrical grid: the more decentralized an electrical grid is, the higher smart grid pervasion will need to be [47].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty, vision, and the vitality of the emerging smart grid

Tricoire

2015

Energy Research & Social Science

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a b s t r a c tThis paper answers an important question consensually identified as crucial for smart grid roll-out. Our objective is to highlight the reasons for economic, technological and regulatory uncertainty continuing in the smart grid sector. The argument of this paper is that to face uncertainty, actors adopted strategic positioning but not systematically favoring the emergence of a structuring and shared vision of smart grid. However, converging visions are necessary to limit uncertainty and thus secure the sector's development and durability in the coming years.The results presented here are based on two methodological approaches. First, a social network analysis of worldwide relationships between smart grid actors has been performed to characterize the actors' positioning strategies. The paper identifies four categories of actors: local observers, global observers, experimenters, and central actors. Second, a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with approximately 30 French smart grid stakeholders gave us information on discourses and perceptions of the sector's reality and constraints. It appeared that smart grid merges both long-established actors in the smart grid focal sector, i.e., energy, promoting a highly accurate but strictly energy-oriented perception, and new entrants coming from related sectors such as ICT, offering an open but indistinct perspective. Therefore, stakeholders diverge on the definition and potential source of added value.These results help to elucidate the transition of socio-technical systems. Indeed, at this very moment when contextual uncertainty remains high, it appears that actors from the focal sector play a crucial part in driving the current sector development, whereas new entrants remain unable to modify the sector's regime decisively. One can interpret this situation as a sign of the failure of the smart grid sector to emerge as such. Conversely, one can see here an evolution of focal actors' strategies regarding uncertainty in an innovative socio-technical system in transition. To solve this issue, further studies should be conducted both on the smart grid sector to see how it will evolve and on other sectors to search for similar trends.

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“…Nair and Zhang [7] reviewed the development of electricity grids in New Zealand and identified future opportunities and policies concerning intelligent grids. Mah et al [8] examined the motivations, processes and outcomes of the development of smart grids in South Korea through the perspectives of governance and innovation systems. Ipakchi [9] presented some emerging smart grid applications and discussed information system requirements for a broad-base application to the smart grid.…”

Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Smart Grids in China—A Review

Yu¹,

Yang

Bin

2012

Energies

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Abstract:The concept of the smart grid has been gaining more and more attention worldwide since it was proposed by the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute in 2001. Recently, it has been propelled again by the promotion of low carbon economies in developing countries. To satisfy the exponential increase in electricity demand and alleviate environmental degradation caused by fossil fuel-based power generation, China has made great efforts in constructing a smart grid as a substitution of traditional energyintensive power grid. In the 12th Five-Year Plan in particular, it was stated that emphasis should be placed on the development of renewable energy and smart grids. The objective of this paper is to provide an insight into the current research on smart grids, and shed light on the development of smart grids in China, based on the analysis of which, the obstacles and barriers in the development process are identified. Finally, policy prospects on the construction of smart grids in China are proposed from the aspects of technology, administration and management.

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Governing the Transition of Socio-technical Systems: A Case Study of the Development of Smart Grids in Korea

Abstract: Governing the transition of socio-technical systems: A case study of Governing the transition of socio-technical systems: A case study of the development of smart grids in Korea the development of smart grids in Korea

Cited by 64 publications

References 14 publications

Emerging energy transitions: PV uptake beyond subsidies

Emerging energy transitions: PV uptake beyond subsidies

Uncertainty, vision, and the vitality of the emerging smart grid

The Smart Grids in China—A Review

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