Of transitions and models: Community engagement, democracy, and empowerment in the Austrian energy transition

Komendantova, Nadejda; Riegler, Monika; Neumueller, Sonata

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2017.10.031

Cited by 48 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It was even more surprising that civic participation is given the least importance by plant operators. After all, participation is regarded as a core agent for the improvement of the Energy Transition's acceptance [49,50,34]. In analyzing the operators´ specific project aims, it becomes apparent that the operators of wind energy place more value than average on nature protection and regional value creation, while operators of biogas plants are rather motivated by economic aims: base load capability, full load hours, and profitability.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This explains the fact that surprises Sunak et al [26] (p. 51) and Höfer et al [27] (p. 240) as representatives of many other planning-oriented studies when evaluating their findings: that the sites actually used hardly concur with those identified as being optimal according to the authors' conceptions. Therefore, integrating social scientific perspectives seems appropriate, since the deployment of renewable energies is, at the same time, the result of a social construct [20] shaped by the relationships between individuals, operators' consortia, companies, as well as formal and informal institutions [2,33,34].…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Energy Transition from Plant Operators’ Perspective—A Behaviorist Approach

Bosch

Schwarz

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The implementation of many small power stations compensates the closing of powerful large power plants as part of the German Energy Transition is compensated. It is unclear how site decisions are made, which actors are involved, and which economic, ecological, and social consequences occur. The quantitative study consists of a written postal survey of renewable energy plant operators, concerning central aspects of project development. The study found strong regional disparities concerning the entrepreneurial behavior of plant operators of renewable energies, a low importance of socio-institutional and socio-cultural parameters, a great relevance of micro-social environment during site planning of renewable energy plants, and that plant operators are highly influenced by economic and individual desires. It may be concluded that the perspectives operators have on the Energy Transitions must be more systematically included into the discourse regarding the sustainable deployment of renewable energies, as they reveal significant disparities with topics that are emphasized by the public (e.g., landscape aesthetic, citizens’ participation). It was shown that the challenges and problems that arise in the context of regional energy transformation cannot be generalized beyond regional circumstances; rather, they must be regarded as specific regional phenomena that have to be overcome by means of regionally adapted energy concepts.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Energy Transition from Plant Operators’ Perspective—A Behaviorist Approach

Bosch

Schwarz

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fuzzy cognitive maps [127] , for instance, have been established as a communication and learning tool in scenario studies [128] and extended to assess strategies and their vulnerability to uncertainties [129] , allowing citizens to evaluate climate policy strategies from their point of view, and inform [130] or improve [131] modelling exercises. As a commitment, however, the scientific community at large needs to embrace the true meaning of knowledge co-production and move beyond the sole realm of validation of results or consultation without any transformational impact, towards the ethos of creating partnerships with society [132] . Such settings, going beyond symbolic effort to creating alliances of science and society, can genuinely help understand how society’s aspirations can be mapped [133] onto requirements and opportunities of a transition driven by lifestyle changes, building on evidence of the importance of dialogue to achieve distributional justice and gender equality [134] .…”

Section: Co-developing Knowledge: Discursive and Fun Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The desirability of transitions in demand: Incorporating behavioural and societal transformations into energy modelling

Νίκας

Lieu

Şorman

et al. 2020

Energy Research & Social Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Quantitative systems modelling in support of climate policy has tended to focus more on the supply side in assessing interactions among technology, economy, environment, policy and society. By contrast, the demand side is usually underrepresented, often emphasising technological options for energy efficiency improvements. In this perspective, we argue that scientific support to climate action is not only about exploring capacity of “what”, in terms of policy and outcome, but also about assessing feasibility and desirability, in terms of “when”, “where” and especially for “whom”. Without the necessary behavioural and societal transformations, the world faces an inadequate response to the climate crisis challenge. This could result from poor uptake of low-carbon technologies, continued high-carbon intensive lifestyles, or economy-wide rebound effects. For this reason, we propose a framing for a holistic and transdisciplinary perspective on the role of human choices and behaviours in influencing the low-carbon transition, starting from the desires of individuals and communities, and analysing how these interact with the energy and economic landscape, leading to systemic change at the macro-level. In making a case for a political ecology agenda, we expand our scope, from comprehending the role of societal acceptance and uptake of end-use technologies, to co-developing knowledge with citizens from non-mainstream and marginalised communities, and to defining the modelling requirements to assess the decarbonisation potential of shifting lifestyle patterns in climate change and action.

show abstract

“…Some argue that decisions on the need for infrastructure and what types of technology should be used are best left in the hands of scientists and political decision-makers, such as national ministries, and that public participation should be organized only to evaluate the outcomes of the decision-making processes and details of the individual projects [13]. Others say that participation, especially by the local communities, brings knowledge to stakeholders at the national level and allows the decision-making processes to be improved [14], along with their legitimacy and the creation of trust [15,16].…”

Section: Participatory Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Are Energy Security Concerns Dominating Environmental Concerns? Evidence from Stakeholder Participation Processes on Energy Transition in Jordan

Komendantova

Ekenberg

Marashdeh

et al. 2018

Climate

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To satisfy Jordan’s growing demand for electricity and to diversify its energy mix, the Jordanian government is considering a number of electricity-generation technologies that would allow for locally available resources to be used alongside imported energy. Energy policy in Jordan aims to address both climate change mitigation and energy security by increasing the share of low-carbon technologies and domestically available resources in the Jordanian electricity mix. Existing technological alternatives include the scaling up of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind; the deployment of nuclear energy; and shale oil exploration. However, the views, perceptions, and opinions regarding these technologies—their benefits, risks, and costs—vary significantly among different social groups both inside and outside the country. Considering the large-scale policy intervention that would be needed to deploy these technologies, a compromise solution must be reached. This paper is based on the results of a four-year research project that included extensive stakeholder processes in Jordan, involving several social groups and the application of various methods of participatory governance research, such as multi-criteria decision-making. The results show the variety of opinions expressed and provide insights into each type of electricity-generation technology and its relevance for each stakeholder group. There is a strong prevalence of economic rationality in the results, given that electricity-system costs are prioritized by almost all stakeholder groups.

show abstract

Of transitions and models: Community engagement, democracy, and empowerment in the Austrian energy transition

Cited by 48 publications

References 18 publications

The Energy Transition from Plant Operators’ Perspective—A Behaviorist Approach

The Energy Transition from Plant Operators’ Perspective—A Behaviorist Approach

The desirability of transitions in demand: Incorporating behavioural and societal transformations into energy modelling

Are Energy Security Concerns Dominating Environmental Concerns? Evidence from Stakeholder Participation Processes on Energy Transition in Jordan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About