Waves of disruption in clean energy transitions: Sociotechnical dimensions of system disruption in Germany and the United Kingdom

Johnstone, Phil; Rogge, Karoline S.; Kivimaa, Paula; Fratini, Chiara Farné; Primmer, Eeva; Stirling, Andy

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2019.101287

Cited by 82 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 74 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Tvinnereim et al (2017) look at the issues from a national perspective in Norway, while Biresselioglu et al (2020) consider the wider European issues for individuals and collectives [12] , [13] . Johnstone et al (2020) explore some of the non-technical issues of energy transitions [14] . Crowe and Li (2020) explore the issues of just transitions in certain US states for both coal and solar [15] .…”

Section: Rootsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Just transitions: Histories and futures in a post-COVID world

Henry

Bazilian

Markuson³

2020

Energy Research & Social Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The energy landscape is changing dramatically. Communities are being impacted in different ways. Positive impacts include reductions in air pollution and new tax revenues from renewables. Negative impacts include lost jobs and foregone tax revenues after closure of large fossil fuels generation facilities and coal mines. The contours of this transition have been further altered by recent events such as the global oil market crash and the COVID-19 pandemic. While economic and social issues can be addressed through thoughtful policy design, the pace of change, and the extent to which communities have a say in what comes next, matter. Though the technical issues of transitions are well-researched, the socio-economic aspects of the energy transition remain both emergent and essential to an equitable transition to a low-carbon energy system. This article provides an overview of the history and current status of just transitions.

show abstract

Section: Rootsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Just transitions: Histories and futures in a post-COVID world

Henry

Bazilian

Markuson³

2020

Energy Research & Social Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studying the documentation connected to Sege Park, the consultancy reports, and the presentations made during the dialogue meetings, it seems as though the key actors are locked into centralized solutions bene cial to incumbent actors such as the DSO in this case (Palm, 2006;Smith et al, 2005). Decentralized ownership has been put forward as an enabler of the transition towards a more renewable energy system (Haney & Pollitt, 2013;Johnstone et al, 2020), but there are many barriers to such change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Sweden, the need for and future of microgrids are under investigation, especially regarding the ownership of such grids. Grid ownership has been considered important for sustainable energy transitions as the number of independent grids and production units increases (Haney & Pollitt, 2013;Johnstone et al, 2020). In spring 2020, the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate proposed that cooperatives such as ECs should not be allowed to either own or manage electricity networks (Ei R2020:02:351).…”

Section: Microgridsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Energy Systems and Energy Communities Under Negotiation

Palm

Kojonsaari

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundNew decentralized energy-generation technologies have turned economies of scale upside down while becoming more economically viable. The increased penetration of information technologies has led to new opportunities to manage infrastructure in a less hierarchical, more flexible way. Together with citizen demands for control over energy, this has put energy communities (ECs) on the agenda, potentially advancing the transition towards more sustainable energy systems, despite hindrances encountered on the way.This paper presents a case from Sweden, using participatory observations and interviews conducted during the planning of a sustainable city district built around sharing. We examined the discussions between stakeholders concerning smart energy systems and the establishment of a microgrid.ResultsWe found that the discussions of the microgrid comprised two parallel discourses, coexisting but seldomly explicitly confronted. The distribution system operator in the area promoted its solutions, while the property developers opted for a microgrid organized more as an EC. We discuss why the EC proponents apparently lost the battle in this smart grid case.ConclusionsThis paper described the energy planning process in a case study in Sweden, where two different models for building an electric microgrid can be identified: distributed energy systems and energy community perspectives. We suggest that these perspectives have different values. We conclude that interest in microgrids could shift the transition pathway towards a more decentralized system involving a variety of owners.

show abstract

“…Originating from outside of the climate literature, this concept has typically focused on processes of innovation-i.e., disruptive innovation-relating to the uptake of novel business strategies with the potential to upset current markets and the position of incumbent firms. However, emerging work suggests that disruption may also apply to changes in actor networks, ownership patterns, and regulations that place pressure on established systems (Johnstone et al, 2020). More encompassing even, degrowth has been used to contemplate the decline of entire political-economic paradigms-i.e., capitalism and compatible notions of green economic growth-in order to realize socioecological transformation (Demaria, Schneider, Sekulova, & Martinez-Alier, 2013).…”

Section: Scope and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deliberate decline: An emerging frontier for the study and practice of decarbonization

Rosenbloom

Rinscheid

2020

WIREs Climate Change

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Promoting low-carbon innovation has long been a central preoccupation within both the practice and theory of climate change mitigation. However, deep lock-ins indicate that existing carbon-intensive systems will not be displaced or reconfigured by innovation alone. A growing number of studies and practical initiatives suggest that mitigation efforts will need to engage with the deliberate decline of carbon-intensive systems and their components (e.g., technologies and practices). Yet, despite this realisation, the role of intentional decline in decarbonization remains poorly understood and the literature in this area continues to be dispersed among different bodies of research and disciplines. In response, this article structures the fragmented strands of research engaging with purposive decline, interrogating the role it may play in decarbonization. It does so by systematically surveying concepts with particular relevance for intentional decline, focusing on phase-out, divestment, and destabilization.

show abstract

Waves of disruption in clean energy transitions: Sociotechnical dimensions of system disruption in Germany and the United Kingdom

Cited by 82 publications

References 74 publications

Just transitions: Histories and futures in a post-COVID world

Just transitions: Histories and futures in a post-COVID world

Distributed Energy Systems and Energy Communities Under Negotiation

Deliberate decline: An emerging frontier for the study and practice of decarbonization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About