Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems in Ecovillages: A Review of Progress in BedZED and Masdar City

Zhu, Dan; Kung, Michael; Zhou, Linfeng

doi:10.4236/lce.2015.61001

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…CE initiatives may comprise communities of place-emphasizing shared values associated with a particular territory or landscape-or communities of practice-emphasizing shared ethics and world views, financial circumstances or problems (Magnani and Osti, 2016; but see also Becker and Kunze, 2014) Energy cooperatives (REScoops) are the oldest, and perhaps best known, type of CE; these may be either energy producers, suppliers, or both (Capellán-Pérez et al, 2016;Magnani and Osti, 2016), and provide energy or revenue from sales to their members, who are not necessarily part of the same geographical community. Other types of initiatives include community development companies or not-for-profit organizations who manage production or supply for direct local benefit (Slee and Harnmeijer, 2017;Harnmeijer et al, 2018), and sustainability movements of various sorts ranging from substantial and well-organized transition towns initiatives (Seyfang and Haxeltine, 2012) to eco-villages and informal citizen's groups emphasizing self-sufficiency and energy saving (Georg, 1999;Zhu et al, 2015;Renau, 2018). However, as Creamer et al (2018) have observed, CE refers to a broad spectrum of energy-related initiatives, not a specific class of project.…”

Section: Community Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Innovation in Community Energy in Europe: A Review of the Evidence

et al. 2019

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Citizen-driven Renewable Energy (RE) projects of various kinds, known collectively as community energy (CE), have an important part to play in the worldwide transition to cleaner energy systems. On the basis of evidence from 8 European countries, we investigate CE, over approximately the last 50 years (c.1970-2018), through the lens of Social Innovation (SI). We carry out a detailed review of literature around the social dimension of renewable energy; we collect, describe and map CE initiatives from Belgium, and the UK; and we unpack the SI concept into 4 operational criteria which we suggest are essential to recognizing SI in CE. These are: (1) Crises and opportunities; (2) the agency of civil society; (3) reconfiguration of social practices, institutions and networks; (4) new ways of working. We identify three main phases of SI in CE. The environmental movements of the 1960s and the "oil shocks" of the 1970s provided the catalyst for a series of innovative societal responses around energy and self-sufficiency. A second wave of SI relates to the mainstreaming of RE and associated government support mechanisms. In this phase, with some important exceptions, successful CE initiatives were mainly confined to those countries where they were already embedded as innovators in the previous phase. The third phase of CE innovation relates to the societal response to the Great Recession that began in 2008 and lasted most of the subsequent decade. CE initiatives formed around this time were also strongly focused around democratization of energy and citizen empowerment in the context of rising energy prices, a weak economy, and a production and supply system dominated by excessively powerful multinational energy firms. CE initiatives today are more diverse than at any time previously, and are likely to continue to act as incubators for pioneering initiatives addressing virtually all aspects of energy. However, large multinational energy firms remain the dominant vehicle for delivery of the energy transition, and the apparent excitement in European policy circles for "community energy" does not extend to democratization of energy or genuine empowerment of citizens.

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Section: Community Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Innovation in Community Energy in Europe: A Review of the Evidence

et al. 2019

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“…The project was completed in 2002 and is located in Hackbridge, London. BedZED community was designed by Bill Duster Architects in collaboration with the Peabody Trust (client) and Bioregional Development Group (environmental consultants) [119]. The project's size is 1.7 hectares (ha), with 116 dwellings per hectare, including live/work units [112,114,120,121].…”

Section: Beddington Zero Energy Development (Bedzed) Londonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The project aimed to cover emissions from office and local energy use, embodied energy from construction, transports, food, and waste [114]. An 81% reduction in energy use for hot water (5.2 kWh/person/day) and a 45% reduction in electricity use (3.4 kWh/person/day) was reported, compared to the average in Sutton, London [114,119,120].…”

Section: Beddington Zero Energy Development (Bedzed) Londonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Net Zero Energy Communities: Integrated Power System, Building and Transport Sectors

2021

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A Net Zero Community (NZC) concept and its energy characteristics are presented in this paper. NZC is an emerging topic with multiple variations in terms of scope and calculated methods, which complicates quantifying its performance. This paper covers three key barriers in achieving NZC targets: (1) the main focus of current definitions on buildings, disregarding community power systems and energy use in transportation; (2) different requirements (source, supply, metrics, etc.) in the existing definitions; and (3) lack of updated published reports to track the progress of committed NZC targets. The importance of this research is summarized as due to increased savings in primary energy and greenhouse gas emissions related to the three main energy sectors, namely power systems, buildings, and transportation (PBT). To clarify the current NZC, this paper reviews: (1) variations in the existing definitions and criteria from peer-reviewed publications; (2) the latest climate projection models by policymakers to achieve net zero by 2050; (3) the literature on renewable-based power systems; and (4) three planned NZC cases in international locations, in order to study their NZC targets, energy performance, and challenges. The outcome highlights NZC design guidelines, including energy efficiency measures, electrification, and renewables in PBT sectors that help stakeholders including policymakers, developers, designers, and engineers speed up achievement of NZC targets.

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“…Energy cooperatives (REScoops) are the oldest, and perhaps best known, type of CE; these may be either energy producers, suppliers, or both (Magnani andOsti 2016, Capellán-Peréz et al 2016), and provide energy or revenue from sales to their members, who are not necessarily part of the same geographical community. Other types of initiatives include community development companies or not-for-profit organizations who manage production or supply for direct local benefit Harnmeijer 2017, Harnmeijer et al 2018), and sustainability movements of various sorts ranging from substantial and well-organized transition towns initiatives (Seyfang and Haxeltine 2012) to eco-villages and informal citizen's groups emphasizing selfsufficiency and energy saving (Renau 2018, Zhu et al 2015, Georg 1999. However, as Creamer et al (2018) have observed, CE refers to a broad spectrum of energy-related initiatives, not a specific class of project.…”

Section: Community Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social innovation in community energy in Europe: a review of the evidence

Hewitt¹,

Bradley²,

Compagnucci³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Citizen-driven Renewable Energy (RE) projects of various kinds, known collectively as community energy (CE), have an important part to play in the worldwide transition to cleaner energy systems. On the basis of evidence from literature review and an exploratory survey of 8 European countries, we investigate European CE through the lens of Social Innovation (SI). Broadly, three main phases of SI in CE can be identified. The environmental movements of the 1960s and the “oil shocks” of the 1970s provided the catalyst for a series of innovative societal responses around energy and self-sufficiency. These first wave CE innovations included cooperatives (e.g. in Sweden and Germany) who financed and managed risks for RE developments in the absence of support from governments and banks. A second wave of SI relates to the mainstreaming of RE and associated government support mechanisms. In this phase, with some important exceptions, successful CE initiatives were mainly confined to those countries where they were already embedded as innovators in the previous phase. In former communist countries of central and eastern Europe (Poland, former East Germany) CE development was hindered by societal mistrust of cooperative movements for their association with the state socialism of the past. In Scotland, UK, strong public support was given to CE, and a new form, the Community Development Trust, emerged and was later replicated elsewhere in the UK.The third phase of CE innovation relates to the societal response to the Great Recession that began in 2007-8 and lasted most of the subsequent decade. Though climate change had become a pressing concern, CE initiatives formed around this time were also strongly focused around democratization of energy and citizen empowerment in the context of rising energy prices, a weak economy, and a production and supply system dominated by excessively powerful multinational energy firms. CE initiatives today are more diverse than at any time previously, and though seriously constrained by mainstream energy policy in most countries, are likely to continue to act as incubators for pioneering initiatives addressing virtually all aspects of energy.

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Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems in Ecovillages: A Review of Progress in BedZED and Masdar City

Cited by 6 publications

References 5 publications

Social Innovation in Community Energy in Europe: A Review of the Evidence

Social Innovation in Community Energy in Europe: A Review of the Evidence

Net Zero Energy Communities: Integrated Power System, Building and Transport Sectors

Social innovation in community energy in Europe: a review of the evidence

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