Community energy initiatives to alleviate fuel poverty: the material politics of Energy Cafés

Abstract

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations. Previous research in grassroots innovations has largely focused on conceptualising such initiatives and analysing their potential for replication and diffusion; there has been less research in the politics involved in these initiatives. We examine grassroots innovations as forms of political engagement that is different from the 1970s' alternative technology movements. Through an analysis of community-run Energy Cafés in the United Kingdom, we argue that while present-day grassroots innovations appear less explicitly political than their predecessors, they can still represent a form of political participation. Through the analytical lens of material politics, we investigate how Energy Cafés engage in diverse -explicit and implicit, more or less consciousforms of political engagement. In particular, their work to "demystify" clients' energy bills can unravel into various forms of advocacy and engagement with energy technologies and practices in the home. Some Energy Café practices also make space for a needs-driven approach that acknowledges the embeddedness of energy in the household and wider society. ARTICLE HISTORY

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

“…Community energy has broadly been characterised as civil society activity 'tackling a wide range of sustainable energy and related issues' [14]. Community energy initiatives can be understood as "diverse-explicit and implicit, more or less conscious-forms of political engagement" [15]. 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).…”

Future Design Approaches for Energy Poverty: Users Profiling and Services for No-Vulnerable Condition

“…Some studies indeed focus on the role of community participation in improving the knowledge on energy and on energy services. As an example, Martiskainen et al [61,62] describe the organization of Energy Cafés, a format for letting communities engaging with energy locally. In particular, the community organize pop-up temporary events where information and advice on energy are provided to other persons.…”

Putting Research to Action: Integrating Collaborative Governance and Community-Engaged Research for Community Solar

“…In reality, however, community energy projects are often subject to external motivations, management, and control, meaning that they are not always community engaged or driven (Catney et al 2014). Martiskainen et al (2018) argue that community-engaged energy projects are inherently political. National community energy initiatives use the tactic of emphasizing the benefits of local energy generation; however, control of these energy systems still remains in federal governance structures or powerful decision-makers, rather than the communities within which they operate (Smith 2005;Walker et al 2007).…”

“…These community energy projects continue to support individual rather than collective strategies for project success (Cameron 2010;Catney et al 2014). This means that there is an emphasis on individual behavior change towards some predetermined goal, which can be defined without or with minimal community input (Martiskainen et al 2018;Batel et al 2013;Maniates 2001). Many local communities have difficulty accessing decisions regarding energy systems that can adversely impact their communities (Martiskainen et al 2018;Rau et al 2012).…”

“…This means that there is an emphasis on individual behavior change towards some predetermined goal, which can be defined without or with minimal community input (Martiskainen et al 2018;Batel et al 2013;Maniates 2001). Many local communities have difficulty accessing decisions regarding energy systems that can adversely impact their communities (Martiskainen et al 2018;Rau et al 2012). For example, in our project, participants repeatedly described a wind project that was initiated by a larger energy development firm that ignored community input and values.…”