Harnessing Community Energies: Explaining and Evaluating Community-Based Localism in Renewable Energy Policy in the UK

Walker, Gordon; Hunter, Sue; Devine‐Wright, Patrick; Evans, Bob; Fay, H.

doi:10.1162/glep.2007.7.2.64

Cited by 285 publications

(167 citation statements)

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“…Consequently there is likely to be much uncertainty about the potential roles and responsibilities of different parties in a community energy project. Walker et al (2007b) state that UK community renewable energy schemes are currently characterised by their diversity in purpose and process. While they describe this diversity as a strength because the lack of fixed elements means projects are adapted to local circumstances, it also means there is no common understanding of the term in the public mindset.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public perceptions of opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects

et al. 2008

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Usage of any items from the University of Cumbria's institutional repository 'Insight' must conform to the following fair usage guidelines.Any item and its associated metadata held in the University of Cumbria's institutional repository Insight (unless stated otherwise on the metadata record) may be copied, displayed or performed, and stored in line with the JISC fair dealing guidelines (available here) for educational and not-for-profit activities provided that• the authors, title and full bibliographic details of the item are cited clearly when any part of the work is referred to verbally or in the written form• a hyperlink/URL to the original Insight record of that item is included in any citations of the work • the content is not changed in any way• all files required for usage of the item are kept together with the main item file. You may not• sell any part of an item• refer to any part of an item without citation • amend any item or contextualise it in a way that will impugn the creator's reputation• remove or alter the copyright statement on an item.The full policy can be found here. Alternatively contact the University of Cumbria Repository Editor by emailing insight@cumbria.ac.uk. Abstract: It now widely acknowledged that the UK needs to increase renewable energy capacity and it has been claimed that community-based renewable energy projects, with high levels of public participation, are more likely to be accepted by the public than top-down development of large scale schemes and may bring additional benefits such as increased engagement with sustainable energy issues. However, little research has investigated public expectations of how people would like to participate in such projects and why. The aim of this study was to explore one rural community's response to a proposed sustainable energy project.A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews provided quantitative and qualitative data. There was widespread support for local generation and use of renewable energy, with respondents expecting benefits from a project in terms of increased community spirit and conservation of natural resources. However, desire for active involvement was lower and residents viewed themselves participating as consultees, rather than project leaders. We suggest community renewable energy projects are likely to gain public acceptance but are unlikely to become widespread without greater institutional support.Suggested Reviewers : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 AbstractIt now widely acknowledged that the UK needs to increase renewable energy capacity and it has been claimed that community-based renewable energy projects, with high levels of public participation, are more likely to be accepted by the public than top-down development of large scale schemes and may bring additional benefits such as increase...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public perceptions of opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects

et al. 2008

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“…New feed-in tariffs and sharp drops in the costs of solar were affecting the viability of renewable energy generation for grassroots initiatives, prompting experimentation with new community-led models around the UK [98]. In Bristol, new initiatives could draw support from the BCC, CSE and the wider alternative milieu.…”

Section: Third Settlementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

2018

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Urban experimentation with sustainability has been gaining prominence in policy and academic discourses about urban transformations, spurring the creation of urban living laboratories and transition arenas. However, the academic literature has only begun examining why experimentation flourishes in particular cities, and why it conforms to place-specific styles. Meanwhile, the strategic niche management (SNM) tradition has extensively explored how protective spaces for experimentation emerge but has dealt only tangentially with why this happens in particular places. In this paper, we develop an approach for unpacking the formation of favourable environments for experimentation in specific places. We adopt an abductive research design to create a dialogue between distinct theoretical positions and one in-depth case study. Our case examines the formation of the Bristol energy scene, which hosts a variety of experimental initiatives concerning civic energy alternatives. Based on our findings, we refine the understanding of the processes shaping this experimental setting. There is value in characterising the 'genealogy' of experimental spaces and acknowledging their antecedents, path-dependencies and place-specificities. Efforts to foster urban transformation demand nuanced accounts of how places become experimental because they are not static backgrounds for experimentation.

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“…Government financial support for low-carbon technologies (through, for example, the feed-in tariff) has resulted in their widening uptake, but it has not enabled the development of locally adapted and innovative socio-technical energy solutions. Support for communities in developing such bottom-up innovation is unlikely to come from the 'community energy' policy framework, as that is geared more towards supporting the development of new energy technology markets than the enhancing communitarian principles (Walker, Hunter, Devine-Wright, Evans, & Fay, 2007 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-producing energy futures: impacts of participatory modelling

Krzywoszynska

Buckley

Birch

et al. 2016

Building Research & Information

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This transdisciplinary research case study sought to disrupt the usual ways public participation shapes future energy systems. An interdisciplinary group of academics and a self-assembling public of a North English town co-produced 'bottom-up' visions for a future local energy system by emphasizing local values, aspirations and desires around energy futures. The effects of participatory modelling are considered as part of a community visioning process on participants' social learning and social capital. This paper examines both the within-process dynamics related to models and the impact of the outside process, political use of the models by the participants. Both a numerical model (to explore local electricity generation and demand) and a physical scale model of the town were developed to explore various aspects of participants' visions. The case study shows that collaborative visioning of local energy systems can enhance social learning and social capital of communities. However, the effect of participatory modelling on these benefits is less clear. Tensions arise between 'inspiring' and 'empowering' role of visions. It is argued that the situatedness of the visioning processes needs to be recognized and integrated within broader aspects of governance and power relations.Keywords: agency, built environment, cooperation, co-production, energy model, renewable energy, resilience, social capitalIntroduction: bottom-up engagement with future energy systemsThe UK energy system is changing, with a transition from a high dependence on fossil fuels to a more complex, varied and intermittent energy supply landscape. The consequences of this for the socio-material environment of neighbourhoods is significant; however, democratic involvement in the shaping of energy futures remains low (Seyfang, Park, & Smith, 2013;Walker & Devine-Wright, 2008). While there is a long legacy of involving local publics in re-imagining the built fabric of their neighbourhoods (Aylett, 2013), this participatory approach has not been brought to bear on the interaction between landscapes, built environment and future energy systems. Adopting what Chilvers and Kearnes (2015) term 'residual realist' understandings of the public and of participation, dominant approaches to societal engagement BUILDING RESEARCH & INFORMATION 2016 Vol. 44, No. 7, 804-815, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2016 # Gansmo, 2012;Ivner et al., 2010; and Sheppard et al., 2011). Consequently, there are few opportunities for residents of neighbourhoods to engage with the future of the energy system on their own terms to influence it according to locally held values and visions of the good life.This paper presents a case study of a transdisciplinary research project called Solar Energy in Future Societies (SEFS) that sought to disrupt the usual ways public participation in the shaping of future energy systems is performed. The project brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics and a self-assembling public at the town of Stocksbridge, in the Sheffield area o...

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Harnessing Community Energies: Explaining and Evaluating Community-Based Localism in Renewable Energy Policy in the UK

Cited by 285 publications

References 22 publications

Public perceptions of opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects

Public perceptions of opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

Co-producing energy futures: impacts of participatory modelling

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