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Context and agency in urban community energy initiatives: An analysis of six case studies from the Baltic Sea Region

Ruggiero, Salvatore ; Busch, Henner LU orcid ; Hansen, Teis LU orcid and Isakovic, Aljosa (2021) In Energy Policy 148.
Abstract
In this paper, we analyse community energy (CE) projects in urban settings. Building on insights from the literature on the geography of sustainability transitions, we examine how contextual conditions promote or hinder the development of CE. Furthermore, reflecting on calls for greater attention to agency in transitions, we investigated how actors engaged in urban CE projects exploit beneficial conditions or overcome obstacles related to some of the contextual conditions. Empirically, we draw on six case studies of CE projects from the Baltic Sea Region. To develop a thorough understanding of our cases we conducted 24 semi-structured interviews and analysed numerous secondary sources. Our results show that institutions as well as visions,... (More)
In this paper, we analyse community energy (CE) projects in urban settings. Building on insights from the literature on the geography of sustainability transitions, we examine how contextual conditions promote or hinder the development of CE. Furthermore, reflecting on calls for greater attention to agency in transitions, we investigated how actors engaged in urban CE projects exploit beneficial conditions or overcome obstacles related to some of the contextual conditions. Empirically, we draw on six case studies of CE projects from the Baltic Sea Region. To develop a thorough understanding of our cases we conducted 24 semi-structured interviews and analysed numerous secondary sources. Our results show that institutions as well as visions, e.g. plans for future energy generation, are important contextual features for urban CE projects. Local actors seek to overcome unfavourable contextual conditions for CE initiatives by building trust, appealing to their community’s sense of identity, networking, and promoting demonstration projects. Based on the results, we recommend that local and national governments address the following four issues to strengthen the role of CE in the transformation of urban energy systems: 1) harmonising policies; 2) creating a culture for transitions; 3) developing visions for CE; and 4) promoting policy learning from experiments. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Energy communities, Sustainability transition, Renewable energy, Urban energy systems, Citizens
in
Energy Policy
volume
148
article number
111956
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85092338634
ISSN
0301-4215
DOI
10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111956
project
Co-producing and co-financing renewable community energy projects
STEPS – Sustainable Plastics and Transition Pathways, Phase 1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
28ed0105-545d-47b9-bfda-1c875956eff2
date added to LUP
2020-10-19 12:51:36
date last changed
2022-05-12 07:03:59
@article{28ed0105-545d-47b9-bfda-1c875956eff2,
  abstract     = {{In this paper, we analyse community energy (CE) projects in urban settings. Building on insights from the literature on the geography of sustainability transitions, we examine how contextual conditions promote or hinder the development of CE. Furthermore, reflecting on calls for greater attention to agency in transitions, we investigated how actors engaged in urban CE projects exploit beneficial conditions or overcome obstacles related to some of the contextual conditions. Empirically, we draw on six case studies of CE projects from the Baltic Sea Region. To develop a thorough understanding of our cases we conducted 24 semi-structured interviews and analysed numerous secondary sources. Our results show that institutions as well as visions, e.g. plans for future energy generation, are important contextual features for urban CE projects. Local actors seek to overcome unfavourable contextual conditions for CE initiatives by building trust, appealing to their community’s sense of identity, networking, and promoting demonstration projects. Based on the results, we recommend that local and national governments address the following four issues to strengthen the role of CE in the transformation of urban energy systems: 1) harmonising policies; 2) creating a culture for transitions; 3) developing visions for CE; and 4) promoting policy learning from experiments.}},
  author       = {{Ruggiero, Salvatore and Busch, Henner and Hansen, Teis and Isakovic, Aljosa}},
  issn         = {{0301-4215}},
  keywords     = {{Energy communities; Sustainability transition; Renewable energy; Urban energy systems; Citizens}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Energy Policy}},
  title        = {{Context and agency in urban community energy initiatives: An analysis of six case studies from the Baltic Sea Region}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111956}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111956}},
  volume       = {{148}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}