Renewable Energy as an Underutilised Resource in Cities: Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ and Lessons for Post-Brexit Cities in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Renewable energy remains an underutilised resource within urban environments. This study examines the ongoing German Energiewende (energy transition) as an example of renewable energy being treated as a necessary resource for urban development. It departs from existing literature by operationalising the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), taking a policy systems approach to analyse (and explain) the cases of three German cities—Munich, Berlin, and Freiburg. This approach helps draw lessons for future UK energy scenarios by placing more abstract conceptions of Sustainable Energy Transitions (SETs) within the context of UK cities, post-Brexit. By discussing five main themes: the shift from government to governance; the need to break ‘carbon lock-in’; renewable energy innovation as an underutilised resource; developing governance strategies for renewable energy resources; the shift from policy to practice, the study yields a detailed reconceptualisation of approaches to renewable energy resource-use policy. The novelty of this study lies in its response to these challenges, taking a policy systems approach to energy governance. The article concludes with a proposed integrated framework. The framework, which is based on multi-scalar and multi-stakeholder integrated energy governance strategy, reconsiders the way in which renewable energy resources are seen in current governance terms in the UK. The framework presents a new approach to renewable energy resource-use policy that embraces innovation, responsible governance, and inclusive processes, (alongside thinking beyond simply technical solutions) to considering the socio-economic impacts of policy decisions in cities.

Opportunities and Threats of Implementing Drain Water Heat Recovery Units in Poland

“…For Poland, this participation is much higher than the world average, as the households themselves are responsible for the consumption of approximately 30% of the final energy [15]. Thus, the important issue is to enable the implementation of environmentally friendly energy systems intended for use by individual customers and promote their further development.Creating a balanced approach to the problem of choosing an energy supply system in a building requires a comprehensive knowledge of the possibilities of alternative heat sources [16]. For this reason, the attention is focused on renewable energy sources, which include inter alia, solar energy [17], wind energy [18], and geothermal energy [19].…”

“…Creating a balanced approach to the problem of choosing an energy supply system in a building requires a comprehensive knowledge of the possibilities of alternative heat sources [16]. For this reason, the attention is focused on renewable energy sources, which include inter alia, solar energy [17], wind energy [18], and geothermal energy [19].…”

Urban Renewable Energy on the Upswing: A Spotlight on Renewable Energy in Cities in REN21’s “Renewables 2019 Global Status Report”

“…To achieve this goal, city leadership in energy transition is urgently needed. At the same time, renewable energy in cities remains an underutilised resource, and in this context more efforts are required to institutionalise local decision-making schemes and arrangements that support decentralised policy outcomes [9]. Innovative governance and financial arrangements along with collective action by local government have significant potential to accelerate the transformation of urban energy systems [10].…”

Clean Energy Sources: Insights from Russia

“…Basing on the results of this stage it is then possible to define the portfolio of energy sources and solve the issues of interoperability between the conventional and renewable energy sources in a reliable and safely manner [109][110][111][112]. After that the questions of practical implementation (e.g., from the technical and economic points of view) and support from the government take their place [113][114][115][116]. Finally, the issues of the overall assessment of the success of decarbonization of the economy are considered in the literature [70,[117][118][119].…”