Local Smart Grids are emerging during the climate crisis, as governments and industry recognize the need to better integrate intermittent renewable energy, storage, transportation, heating, and smart technologies. Such projects can represent profound changes to the status quo of energy and citizen lifestyles. They are also being associated with the “four Ds,” whereby Local Smart Grids are decarbonizing, decentralizing, digitalizing, and potentially democratizing energy systems. Yet, due to their recent arrival, there is very little social scientific research that has aimed to better understand public views, expectations, and support for this change. We attempt to fill this important gap in the literature through the analysis of two nationally representative surveys in the UK (n = 3034) and Canada (n = 941). This analysis highlights within- and between-country trends, including how the variation in responses regarding the “four Ds,” demographic factors, and other variables may explain the differences we see in terms of support for energy system change in the UK and Canada. Our analysis also shows that there are common elements, including the importance of the decentralization, and especially the democratization of energy in shaping support. We hope that this study will help governments, industry, community groups, and local residents themselves in both countries come together to advance the kind of Local Smart Grids that address climate change and represent a supported, just energy transition.

Community-led bioenergy projects show great promise to address a range of issues for remote and Indigenous Arctic communities that typically rely on diesel for meeting their energy demands. However, there is very little research devoted to better understanding what makes individual projects successful. In this study, we analyze the case of the Galena Bioenergy Project (Alaska)—a biomass heating project that uses locally sourced woody biomass to help meet the heating demands of a large educational campus. Using project documents and other publicly available reports, we evaluate the project’s success using three indicators: operational, environmental, and community level socio-economic benefits. We find that the project shows signs of success in all three respects. It has a reliable fuel supply chain for operations, makes contributions towards greenhouse gas reductions by replacing diesel and has improved energy and economic security for the community. We also examine enabling factors behind the project’s success and identify the following factors as crucial: community-level input and support, state level financial support, access to forest biomass with no competing use, predictable demand and committed leadership. Our findings have important implications for other remote communities across the Boreal zone—especially those with nearby forest resources. Our examination of this case study ultimately highlights potential pathways for long-term success and, more specifically, shows how biomass resources might be best utilized through community-led initiatives to sustainably support energy security in Arctic communities.

Centered around concerns of climate change, energy security, and the need for low-cost clean electricity, many jurisdictions that have access to maritime areas are developing offshore wind energy. The province of Nova Scotia, Canada – home to some of the strongest offshore wind resources in the world – is one such place. Yet before development, governments need to listen, understand, and respond to the views of a diverse set of stakeholders, and affected publics. Using online and in-person open house comments, this exploratory study was conducted to determine the level and type of socio-political acceptance during the initial planning stages of offshore wind energy in Nova Scotia. Content analysis revealed that many people who participated in these consultations were initially ambivalent/unclear (with more opposed than supportive) – with regard to offshore wind energy. Consultees most opposed were Indigenous peoples/representatives, members of the general public, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Thematic analysis identified six main themes, with the most referenced being concerns around biodiversity impacts and general environmental concerns. We close the paper with a discussion of the broader implications of our work, including relevance to future research, planning, and policy.

Solar energy continues to grow rapidly worldwide. Yet in the context of a ‘just transition’, recent research has found stark disparities in adoption across communities and sociodemographic groups. In Canada, where all levels of government have shown support for solar adoption, there is a clear lack of equity-centered research. For example, we can find no research that assesses the kinds of people that have invested in or developed solar PV. To begin to address this gap, we present the results from a pilot study set in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Nova Scotia—a municipality that has developed a novel financing support program called Solar City. This exploratory work focuses on analyzing the levels of participation, equity, and barriers experienced among homeowners who have adopted residential rooftop solar—via both Solar City and other non-local programs. After utilizing aerial imagery to locate a sample of solar installations in the HRM (n = 1315), we shared surveys that asked residents for their sociodemographic information as well as the barriers faced in the adoption of solar. We then compared the sociodemographic information to municipal-level characteristics provided by Statistics Canada. We center our analyses around variables such as age, education, gender, and income. Our paper closes with a discussion and conclusion which we hope will inform future research and practice around equitable pathways towards a just solar energy transition—in Halifax and beyond.