On the spatial differentiation of energy transitions: Exploring determinants of uneven wind energy developments in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Wind energy research is dominated by studies of local acceptance (or not) of wind farms and comparative studies at a national level. Research on the spatial differentiation of wind energy developments at the regional level is still insufficient, however. This study provides new empirical evidence for the extent to which regional differences in the deployment of wind energy are related to specific environmental and socioeconomic factors, by a statistical analysis of data for districts in the Czech Republic. Unlike previous studies, we found that the installed capacity of wind energy cannot be well predicted by wind potential, land area and population density in an area. In the Czech Republic, wind farms more likely have been implemented in more urbanised, environmentally deprived coal-mining areas that are affected by economic depression. It seems that in environmentally deprived areas, wind energy is more positively accepted as an alternative source to coal, and the economic motivation (financial benefits for municipalities) can have a greater effect on local acceptance, while public opposition is less efficient due to lower social capital and involvement in political matters. Based on these results, some implications for the planning and spatial targeting of new wind farms are discussed.

Territorial Energy Vulnerability Assessment to Enhance Just Energy Transition of Cities

“…In terms of a just transition to sustainable cities based on PED guidelines, the contribution of our proposed approach is twofold: first, in visualizing structural inequalities relating to energy deprivation, it contributes to making a stronger case for the need for a deep transformation of the energy regime: a transformation motivated not only by the need to decarbonize the energy matrix but also by the imperative of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all, as implied in sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2015). Second, it pushes to reflect both on the possible dangers which may befall the transition effort-potentially hampering its results-and upon the risk that the transition itself can have on energy deprivation: as shown by previous research (Reyes et al, 2015;Bouzarovski and Tirado Herrero, 2017b;Frantál and Nováková, 2019;van der Wiel et al, 2019;O'Sullivan et al, 2020). If not properly planned, transitions may end up worsening-instead of alleviate-existing conditions of inequality, particularly among the most sensitive groups and sectors, and/or in territories showing the lower resiliency to change.…”

“…Fostering a just transition based, for example, on PEDs or EPNs, requires paying deep attention to the context in which the transition occurs: territorial characteristics and dynamics, in fact, influence not only the particular energy needs and acceptability thresholds of energy services but also the chances of success of energy transitions efforts and the emergence of potential unintended consequences of said transitions upon the inequality and vulnerability of the target communities (Bouzarovski and Tirado Herrero, 2017a;Frantál and Nováková, 2019;O'Sullivan et al, 2020). Moreover, it must be noted that while often there is a tendency on the part of scholarship and public policy to grant absolute preference to "modern" energy services (mostly based on electricity), place-based evidence discards the possibility to conceive a unique hierarchy among energy sources: not only households tend to mix different sources in their daily routine (combining different kinds of technologies), but the relative desirability of each of these tend to vary according to the specific context, including socioecological, sociotechnical conditions, and sociocultural practices (Scarpellini et al, 2015;García-Ochoa and Graizbord, 2016;Herington et al, 2017;Billi et al, 2018).…”

Renewables projects in peripheries: determinants, challenges and perspectives of biogas plants – insights from Central European countries

“…Effective modernization of the energy sector, therefore, requires a redefinition of social and technical structures and socio-environmental relations (Calvert, 2015). Thus, the diffusion of renewable energies in the regions is a multilayered and non-linear process affected by plenty of distinct, and sometimes hidden, variables (Frantál & Nováková, 2019) that vary geographically, culturally and temporally (Jacobsson & Lauber, 2006). The fundamental step, therefore, is to identify the key determinants and challenges for the development of renewables projects, especially for those located in the peripheries as they might play a significant role in building a more resilient, energy self-sufficient and generally more sustainable countryside (Craig et al, 2019).…”

From adoration to damnation? Exploring role of media in shaping low-carbon economy in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The chance to achieve these goals surely lies, among others, in abandoning the usage of fossil fuels in favour of the utilization of more sustainable renewable energy sources (RES) and systems (Chodkowska-Miszczuk, 2019 ). There is no doubt that the global economy and its regions are slowly shifting towards a low-carbon path at a pace that varies between both continents and individual countries, depending on their level of development, demographic, social, cultural factors (Frantál & Nováková, 2019 ) and progresses achieved in advancing currently available energy technologies and its efficiency, as well as on the ability to maintain sustainable financing of this transition (Cowell, 2020 ). Central European countries, including Poland, are to participate in this process both as the members of the international community, signatories to the Climate Convention agreed in Madrid in 2019 and as the member states of the European Union (EU) under the Community regime of energy and climate regulations (Böhringer & Rutherford, 2013 ; Lewandowska & Szymańska, 2021 ; Piwowar, 2019 ; Schwartzkopff & Schulz, 2017 ; Wiśniewski & Kistowski, 2017 ).…”