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Worldwide, the energy landscape is changing
Binod Prasad Koirala; Ellen C. J. Van Oost; Esther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt. New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage. Energies 2021, 14, 286 .
AMA StyleBinod Prasad Koirala, Ellen C. J. Van Oost, Esther C. Van Der Waal, Henny J. Van Der Windt. New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage. Energies. 2021; 14 (2):286.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBinod Prasad Koirala; Ellen C. J. Van Oost; Esther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt. 2021. "New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage." Energies 14, no. 2: 286.
We pose that instead of problematizing negative attitudes of local stakeholders, such as citizens and NGOs, wind energy implementers should be more focused on scrutinizing the acceptability of their projects. The emphasis in this study is on the potential for representation of local stakeholders’ values in the project design, including amongst others business model and placement. Informed by value sensitive design literature, we analyzed two contrasting, locally-owned wind projects in the Dutch province of Groningen: the implementation of mini-turbines in a national landscape and a large-scale multi MW wind project in an industrialized area close to a World Heritage nature reserve. The study analyses how the respective farmer-developers and other local stakeholders attempted to resolve or ameliorate inter- and intra-value conflicts regarding livability, economy, landscape, and nature. The value conflicts turned out to be fruitful to identifying key issues and creating more widely shared value conceptualizations and design priorities. Hence, from this study it can be concluded that value conflict can be productive if carefully unpacked and managed. Uneven power distribution among stakeholders in the planning process, overcoming incommensurability of perspectives, and creating intersubjectivity remain challenges.
Esther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt; Rixt Botma; Ellen C. J. Van Oost. Being a Better Neighbor: A Value-Based Perspective on Negotiating Acceptability of Locally-Owned Wind Projects. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8767 .
AMA StyleEsther C. Van Der Waal, Henny J. Van Der Windt, Rixt Botma, Ellen C. J. Van Oost. Being a Better Neighbor: A Value-Based Perspective on Negotiating Acceptability of Locally-Owned Wind Projects. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):8767.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt; Rixt Botma; Ellen C. J. Van Oost. 2020. "Being a Better Neighbor: A Value-Based Perspective on Negotiating Acceptability of Locally-Owned Wind Projects." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 8767.
With energy transition gaining momentum, energy storage technologies are increasingly spotlighted as they can effectively handle mismatches in supply and demand. The decreasing cost of distributed energy generation technologies and energy storage technologies as well as increasing demand for local flexibility is opening up new possibilities for the deployment of energy storage technologies in local energy communities. In this context, community energy storage has potential to better integrate energy supply and demand at the local level and can contribute towards accommodating the needs and expectations of citizens and local communities as well as future ecological needs. However, there are techno-economical and socio-institutional challenges of integrating energy storage technologies in the largely centralized present energy system, which demand socio-technical innovation. To gain insight into these challenges, this article studies the technical, demand and political articulations of new innovative local energy storage technologies based on an embedded case study approach. The innovation dynamics of two local energy storage innovations, the seasalt battery of DrTen® and the seasonal thermal storage Ecovat®, are analysed. We adopt a co-shaping perspective for understanding innovation dynamics as a result of the socio-institutional dynamics of alignment of various actors, their articulations and the evolving network interactions. Community energy storage necessitates thus not only technical innovation but, simultaneously, social innovation for its successful adoption. We will assess these dynamics also from the responsible innovation framework that articulates various forms of social, environmental and public values. The socio-technical alignment of various actors, human as well as material, is central in building new socio-technical configurations in which the new storage technology, the community and embedded values are being developed.
Binod Prasad Koirala; Ellen Van Oost; Henny Van Der Windt. Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat. Energies 2020, 13, 2955 .
AMA StyleBinod Prasad Koirala, Ellen Van Oost, Henny Van Der Windt. Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat. Energies. 2020; 13 (11):2955.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBinod Prasad Koirala; Ellen Van Oost; Henny Van Der Windt. 2020. "Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage: The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat." Energies 13, no. 11: 2955.
Local energy initiatives are of growing interest to studies of grassroots innovation for sustainability. Some of these initiatives have developed novel technological solutions to fulfil local demand for renewable energy. However, whereas the upscaling and diffusion of grassroots innovations has been extensively discussed in the literature, their emergence has received very little attention so far. We will therefore focus on how energy initiatives can develop technological innovations by bringing together local actors and creating a fit to local circumstances. Grounded in actor network theory (ANT) and structured by concepts from Callon’s sociology of translation, we studied two technologically innovative projects of a Dutch energy initiative. Through document analysis and interviews, we researched how these initiatives developed their innovations by forming networks of social, material, and discursive elements. We found that the outcomes of the innovation processes are very dependent on the networking capacities of the energy initiatives, as well as how well they fit with external circumstances and opportunities. The paper concludes with five lessons for grassroots technological innovation: form links with the local, extensively scrutinize plans, create tangible proof of alignments, position the project as beneficial to as many actors as possible, and adjust the level of ambition to the strength of the actor network.
Esther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt; Ellen C. J. Van Oost. How Local Energy Initiatives Develop Technological Innovations: Growing an Actor Network. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4577 .
AMA StyleEsther C. Van Der Waal, Henny J. Van Der Windt, Ellen C. J. Van Oost. How Local Energy Initiatives Develop Technological Innovations: Growing an Actor Network. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (12):4577.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsther C. Van Der Waal; Henny J. Van Der Windt; Ellen C. J. Van Oost. 2018. "How Local Energy Initiatives Develop Technological Innovations: Growing an Actor Network." Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4577.