Search results for "community energy"
showing 2 items of 2 documents
Understanding the scaling-up of community energy niches through Strategic Niche Management Theory: insights from Finland
2018
The growing phenomenon of civil society involvement in renewable energy generation has attracted researchers’ interest. However, rather little is known of how a diverse and relatively small sector such as community energy could scale up and promote a change in energy production. We examine this issue through the lens of Strategic Niche Management (SNM) and conceptualize community energy as a socio-technical niche that holds the potential to promote a transition to renewable energy. Drawing on interview data with members of community energy projects and experts in Finland, we identify different types of community energy projects and the factors that may prevent them from scaling up. The stud…
People power : the role of civil society in renewable energy production
2018
The engagement of civil society actors in energy generation can be defined by the term community energy. Community energy initiatives have increased in several countries. This thesis aims at better understanding how this phenomenon emerges and how it can contribute to the decarbonization of our economy. For this purpose, a multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions and strategic niche management theory were employed as theoretical lenses. The research material consisted of 75 qualitative interviews, a survey of 26 distributed energy experts, and a panel data study of 66 large electric utilities from various countries. Thematic, narrative, regression and descriptive statistical a…