Identifying Research Strategies and Methodological Priorities for the Study of Demanding Energy

Abstract

As the introduction established, there is considerable variation in accounts of energy demand. Starting from different places establishes different priorities and prompts different types of insights. This final chapter revisits the diverse chapters of the book with an explicit focus upon research strategies and how they relate to a shared interest in demanding energy. It recognises that explicitly discussing research tools and techniques can go some way to help stimulate what Mills (1970) might call the methodological imagination, and perhaps along the way make researching demanding energy less demanding for others. Explicitly attending to the research strategies used by the authors in this book is therefore part of developing a research agenda that places processes of demanding energy as its central concern.The primary question underlying all of the studies discussed in this book is: what is energy for? This question builds upon the assumption

Evolution of Energy Landscapes: A Regional Case Study in the Western Netherlands

“…The research presented in this paper set out to map the evolution of energy landscapes in the Western Netherlands, while making use of recently proposed definitions, typologies, and qualifications for the 'energy landscape' phenomenon. In doing so, we respond to calls by energy geographers such as Hui et al [85] for more case studies on energy landscapes. In the following, we will discuss the nature of our case study, collaboration, and research approach, followed by a set of conclusions with respect to the objective and the main research question of the study presented in this paper.…”

“…The so-called 'compensation measures' often include creating new biotopes which, in turn, increases land use pressure [6,83]. The discussion on the potential impact of renewable energy technologies on landscape quality, biodiversity, and food production has resulted in spatially explicit studies for energy transition in The Netherlands (e.g., [84]), while other publications are starting to feature design guidelines for renewable energy landscapes in order to minimize negative effects (e.g., [85]).…”