Energy Research & Social Science最新文献

{"title":"Smart, circular and renewable: The role of cooperative governance in accelerating a sustainable energy transition","authors":"Wim Van Opstal ,&nbsp;Nancy Bocken ,&nbsp;Jan Brusselaers","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The proliferation of renewable energy contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals but also leads to waste issues and critical raw material dependencies. It is therefore important to study circular economy (CE) strategies for renewables to mitigate these challenges, while ensuring broad social participation and enhancing community and business resilience. We apply market failure and cooperative theory to explore how cooperative governance can enable and embed circularity in smart grids. Using a case study of a smart grid project in Belgium, we identify key barriers and enablers for fostering circular outcomes. Our findings suggest that cooperative governance can mitigate market failures involved, such as split incentives and asymmetric information, resolving missing markets and facilitating the integration of CE strategies in smart grids. Analysing design-implementation gaps and boundary conditions for scaling and replication highlights the importance of overcoming regulatory barriers and engaging stakeholders through compelling value propositions. While cooperatives are a promising model for advancing sustainable energy transitions, they require regulatory support and community involvement to realise their full potential. Smart grid development may be shaped by regional institutional contexts but the insights on cooperatives derived from this study have a broad international relevance given the globally applied and comparable framework employed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104049"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143724113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Large-scale renewable energy developments on the indigenous estate: How can participation benefit Australia's First Nations peoples?","authors":"Katie Quail ,&nbsp;Donna Green ,&nbsp;Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition to renewable energy in Australia represents a significant opportunity for First Nations communities to benefit from developments on their land. In partnership with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and the First Nations Clean Energy Network, the authors conducted research exploring this opportunity, with a specific focus on the barriers preventing First Nations from achieving these benefits and what different groups of actors could do to help overcome these barriers. In this paper we present the findings from a series of semi-structured interviews with Traditional Owners, First Nations groups, renewable energy developers and industry representatives, legal experts and other academics. We identified two groups of barriers – overarching barriers including ongoing disadvantage and a lack of funding and resourcing for First Nations groups, and barriers specific to renewable energy developments such as the absence of Indigenous free, prior and informed consent in project approval processes and unclear, non-uniform legislative frameworks. To overcome these barriers, we recommend strategies for different actors. For example, governments could implement Indigenous free, prior and informed consent in regulatory regimes and the renewable energy industry could establish cultural education and training programs for company staff.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104044"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143714836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate obstruction at work: Right-wing populism and the German heating law","authors":"Tobias Haas ,&nbsp;Hendrik Sander ,&nbsp;Anna Fünfgeld ,&nbsp;Franziska Mey","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104034","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104034","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently, there has been a certain reorientation in the field of transition studies. For a long time, the concept of ecological modernization and the focus on green niches were predominant. However, in light of the overall slow pace of sustainability transitions and increasing conflicts surrounding environmental and climate policy measures, there has been a stronger focus on incumbent and right-wing populist actors. The intense debates surrounding the so-called heating law (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG) in Germany demonstrate that socio-technical transitions and policies aimed at achieving net zero should be conceptualized as socially contested processes to adequately reflect their societal and political character. We argue that more recent research on sustainable transitions that looks at the role of incumbent actors, and especially the concept of ‘climate obstruction’ is helpful for better understanding the delay of climate policies. Based on this assumption, we analyze the campaign against the law and identify five central discursive strands brought forward to dismantle the law: Expropriation (1), Disenfranchisement (2), Ideological Driven (3), Green Cronyism (4), and Demand to Take Everyone Along (5).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104034"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The limitations of the one-stop-shop approach: How local experiences shaped opposition to the Norwegian wind power permitting system","authors":"Lars H. Gulbrandsen","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104048","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As European countries seek to increase the share of renewable energy production, local opposition to energy transition processes has escalated in many places. Drawing on energy justice scholarship, this article examines how local experiences shaped opposition to the one-stop-shop approach to wind energy permitting in a Norway. This question is examined thorough an in-depth case study of a wind power licensing process in Sirdal municipality, which seemed like a favourable location for a wind farm. While confirming earlier research showing that the municipalities have an informal veto power in the licensing process, this study illuminates the shortcomings of such a non-statutory approach to municipal influence in the licensing process. In Sirdal, having an informal veto power and the ear of the licensing authority apparently worked well until the licence was granted, but the top-down licensing system and informal consultation practices proved inadequate in securing democratic legitimacy and social acceptance for wind power development over the long-term. The sale of Tonstad wind power plant to foreign investors and these owners' unwillingness to fulfil the obligations of an economic compensation agreement with the municipality exacerbated the municipality's feelings of being deceived and left powerless. The study concludes that any assessment of energy justice must not only consider the different tenets of justice but also the temporal dimension and long-term consequences for local communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104048"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the battlefield of the future: The geopolitical fight for Ukraine's mineral wealth","authors":"Mariusz Baranowski ,&nbsp;Piotr Jabkowski ,&nbsp;Daniel M. Kammen","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104043","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104043","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The geopolitical significance of critical minerals and rare earth elements has intensified in the context of global energy transitions and shifting power dynamics. This article examines how Russia's invasion of Ukraine can be understood through the lens of adaptive resource geopolitics, wherein control over strategic minerals – such as graphite, lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements – has become a crucial factor in the conflict. While traditionally analyzed through NATO expansion and security concerns, Russia's occupation of mineral-rich territories suggests a broader strategy to sustain its influence in a post-fossil fuel world. The European Green Deal has diminished Russia's leverage over fossil fuel exports, compelling the Kremlin to seek new means of maintaining geopolitical dominance. Simultaneously, the United States has increasingly incorporated Ukraine's mineral wealth into diplomatic negotiations, reflecting the rising strategic importance of these resources. Against this backdrop, the EU's response remains ambiguous, caught between its renewable energy ambitions and structural dependencies. This analysis underscores the urgent need for coordinated international policies on mineral security, as access to critical resources will shape future geopolitical alignments, energy strategies, and global economic stability.</div></div><div><h3>Synopsis</h3><div>Russia's control over Ukraine's critical minerals highlights resource-driven geopolitics, impacting renewable energy transitions and global security. The European Green Deal and U.S. policies underscore the environmental stakes of this competition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104043"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can citizen-financed photovoltaic projects support the energy transition? Experimental evidence from Swiss households","authors":"Fabienne Sierro ,&nbsp;Corinne Moser","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photovoltaics (PV) is a widely accepted technology that has a vital role to play in the energy transition. However, residential and community-owned installations are not accessible to everyone. Citizen-financed PV projects (CiFi PV) offer opportunities for tenants, individuals with limited upfront investment capacity, and homeowners with unsuitable rooftops to invest in PV installations.</div><div>To evaluate the attractiveness of CiFi PV and its influencing factors, we conducted two online experiments with representative samples of the Swiss population. The first experiment (<em>N</em> = 807) analyzed the impact of four project characteristics (minimal investment, pay-out model, rooftop type, provider) on perceived attractiveness of CiFi PV projects. The second experiment (<em>N</em> = 512) examined the effect of seven motivational frames and a control frame on the same dependent variable. Both studies also evaluated willingness to invest.</div><div>Over half of respondents were willing to invest in CiFi PV projects, primarily to support solar power and renewable energy generation. The main deterrent was uncertainty about the provider's trustworthiness. Neither project characteristics nor motivational frames significantly influenced perceived attractiveness. While financial and societal impact motivations were significant in the first experiment, the motivational frames in the second did not significantly affect attractiveness.</div><div>These results indicate that CiFi PV projects have a strong diffusion potential because they can effectively engage various kinds of individuals in terms of socio-demographic and motivational attributes. To do so, there must be more of such projects, and they must be made more visible by practitioners and policymakers. Enhancing regulatory framework conditions can further improve project development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104035"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowledge is power? Information, partisan cleavages, and support for energy infrastructure","authors":"Cory L. Struthers ,&nbsp;Min-kyeong Cha ,&nbsp;Marilyn A. Brown","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.103976","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.103976","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Partisanship and ideology, environmental attitudes, government trust, and related beliefs and values can influence public opinion on clean energy and climate change. Few studies have examined how factual information about the energy sector relates to public support for different types of energy infrastructure. Using an original survey of 1,342 residents of the U.S. state of Georgia, regression analysis, and a survey experiment, we test whether energy knowledge is associated with support for renewable and fossil fuel energy infrastructure, and if political identities moderate this relationship. We find that respondents with more factual information about energy are more likely to support solar panels, wind farms, transmission lines, and energy efficient technologies—key building blocks of the clean energy transition. Conversely, we observe a partisan wedge in energy knowledge for two fossil fuels: Greater energy knowledge corresponds with opposition to coal plants only among Democrats and support for natural gas only among Republicans. The information treatment in the survey experiment has no effect, suggesting that factual information alone may not change opinion. Altogether, our research shows that knowledge corresponds with greater support for renewable and efficient energy technologies but that politics and values may compete with facts in shaping views, particularly on fossil fuel infrastructure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 103976"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating energy efficiency within housing systems: A systems approach to map retrofit decision-making among non-profit housing actors","authors":"Robbi Humble,&nbsp;Runa R. Das","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Repair and retrofit of social and affordable housing (also known as community housing) improves living conditions and reduces residential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many policies and programs target the condition and energy efficiency of these buildings, often characterized by deferred maintenance. These policies are critical for mitigating climate change and preserving affordable housing, especially for vulnerable people. However, their effectiveness is constrained by the complexity of urban social housing systems, given overlapping jurisdictions and the diversity of actors, policy domains, regional climates, and energy systems. Non-profit housing actors primarily make asset management and maintenance decisions to provide safe, affordable, and accessible housing – decisions that can lead to energy efficiency retrofits. However, <em>retrofit decision-making</em> is a dynamic process of negotiation between actors and materials evolving over several stages. To design integrated and transformative policies, understanding and comparing systems shaping these decision-making processes is essential.</div><div>Using a systems approach and mixed methods we: 1) identify materials and broader system elements influencing early-stage decision-making from the perspectives of community housing actors; 2) map the strength of these influencing factors across four early stages of the retrofit decision-making process; and 3) compare how local contexts shape the influential factors in two contrasting systems, Saskatchewan (SK) and British Columbia (BC), Canada. We identify 16 influencing factors and map them across four project stages: <em>identification, prioritization, design</em>, and <em>approvals</em>. Building issues, funding availability, and impact on residents are key drivers, though factors vary across stages and depend on local contexts. We conclude with policy and program recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104026"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Capturing the disruptive nature of green energy transitions: A political economy approach","authors":"Sandra Jazmin Barragan-Contreras,&nbsp;Matthew Paterson,&nbsp;James Jackson,&nbsp;Silke Trommer,&nbsp;Pritish Behuria,&nbsp;Sam Hickey","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104039","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104039","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper seeks to develop a new analytical framework for understanding the disruptive dynamics of green energy transitions. While the empirical reality of such disruptions is widely recognised, the only literature within which disruption has been explicitly conceptualised is that arising within the socio-technical transitions research tradition through the notion of “disruptive innovation.” We argue that this approach, centred on technological innovations by firms that disrupt existing markets, consumers, and regulatory arrangements, is too narrow to capture the full range of disruptive dynamics associated with green energy transitions and that a framework rooted in critical political economy approaches is needed to do so. After surveying the various literatures that demonstrate this full range of disruptive dynamics, we propose a definition of disruption and an analytical framework that can both capture the existing empirical research on such disruptions and generate future research. Our analysis reveals that the disruptions associated with GETS are not merely by-products of the transition process but are central to the way these transitions unfold.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104039"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rethinking clean cooking solutions: Assessing the impact of subsidy and distribution modality on improved cook stove programs in Nepal","authors":"Sunil Prasad Lohani ,&nbsp;Rosy Pradhan Shrestha ,&nbsp;Mandip Shrestha ,&nbsp;Henna Rinta-Kiikka ,&nbsp;Jarkko Tissari","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2025.104027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Clean cooking intervention and sustained use of them are crucial in achieving several sustainable development goals (SDG) including SDG 3, 7 and 13. This study aims to examine the impact of subsidy and distribution modality and sustainability of improved cook stove program (ICS) through retrospective assessments. The ICS distributed was an upgrade over inefficient traditional stoves, with a thermal efficiency of approximately 27 %, nearly twice the 15 % efficiency for the traditional stove. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative elements to comprehensively evaluate the government-financed improved cook stove program in two rural municipalities of Nepal. This study uncovers the nuances of the ICS in study areas and reveal significant discrepancies between the intended outcomes of interventions and the actual practices and preferences of end-users. The results show that, although stoves are provided free of cost, sustained use was not ensured. Surprisingly, approximately 35 % of the end-users had exchanged their stoves for onions, especially those with low income. However, 22 % of the participants mentioned that they use the stove occasionally, particularly during rainy season and festivals. The adoption of the improved cookstove is ultimately determined by preference of the cookstove user. The study findings emphasized the needs of end-users' requirement while selecting the clean cooking options for better intervention outcomes. Nepal as a case study, the research contributes to the global discourse on clean cooking interventions, offering insights applicable to other low- and middle-income countries facing similar challenges. The findings of this study should inform policy and practice in diverse contexts and should encourage relevant stakeholders and policy makers to reevaluate their policies and program related with clean cooking intervention in Nepal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":"123 ","pages":"Article 104027"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}