• Energy Research

The field of science and technology studies (STS) has introduced and developed a “sociotechnical” perspective that has been taken up by many disciplines and areas of inquiry. The aims and objectives of this study are threefold: to interrogate which sociotechnical concepts or tools from STS are useful at better understanding energy-related social science, to reflect on prominent themes and topics within those approaches, and to identify current research gaps and directions for the future. To do so, the study builds on a companion project, a systematic analysis of 262 articles published from 2009 to mid-2019 that categorized and reviewed sociotechnical perspectives in energy social science. It identifies future research directions by employing the method of “co-creation” based on the reflections of sixteen prominent researchers in the field in late 2019 and early 2020. Drawing from this co-created synthesis, this study first identifies three main areas of sociotechnical perspectives in energy research (sociotechnical systems, policy, and expertise and publics) with 15 topics and 39 subareas. The study then identifies five main themes for the future development of sociotechnical perspectives in energy research: conditions of systematic change; embedded agency; justice, power, identity and politics; imaginaries and discourses; and public engagement and governance. It also points to the recognized need for pluralism and parallax: for research to show greater attention to demographic and geographical diversity; to stronger research designs; to greater theoretical triangulation; and to more transdisciplinary approaches.

The transformation from the current energy system to a decentralized renewable energy system requires the transformation of communities into energy neutral or even energy producing communities. Increasingly, citizens become 'prosumers' and pool their resources to start a local energy initiative. In this paper we present an in-depth study of networks that recently developed, which challenge the established way of centralized decision-making on energy resources. Many local communities are eager to promote sustainable energy production, to use local financial resources for the local community and to employ democratic governance of energy production and supply. Furthermore, we study how these co-operations are linked to local, regional and national networks for community energy. We use both Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Social Movement Theory (SMT) to investigate the initiatives, as this allows a dynamic analysis of collective strategies. We discuss the obduracy of the energy system and how this system is challenged by new connections between communities and global networks and by new types of energy providers that are rooted in social networks. Furthermore, we draw attention to the way community energy networks provide a social innovation while realizing a decentralized and decarbonized energy system.

The notion of ‘niche’has proved to be useful to account for the emergence of radical innovations. Most studies, however, deal with the development of single emerging technologies. In this paper we address the competition between multiple niche technologies.Within the niche of the ‘car of the future’ two options compete: the battery-electric and the hydrogen car. While both are shielded from regular market forces, they have to compete in terms ofR&Dfunding, supportive regulation and infrastructure build-up. In our case study we trace the competition in terms of design rules and expectations and show how attention for both options has alternated in three phases, which followthe high hopes and subsequent disappointments of the different component technologies. Whereas there is room for simultaneously developed, multiple options at the local level, at the global level attention and expectations seem much more focused on either the one or the other.

In the socio-technical transitions literature, local niche projects have been described as sources of knowledge, experience, actor networks, and (positive) expectations. Local niches and local designs can however also become stumbling blocks when local designs are non-compatible with an emerging global standard. In this paper we study the emergence of standards for electric vehicle recharging plugs to answer the question whether and how local niches and their outcomes may hamper the process of niche aggregation. Our analysis shows that distinct local recharging plug standards have emerged for both regular and fast charging. Especially the standards for regular charging are clearly designed to comply with local regime rules and that these rules have thus prevented the development of a global standard. With our analysis we show that the local context may indeed be so intrusive that it inscribes itself irreversibly in technical designs and standards and hence lead to local lock-ins that prevent further aggregation. Even more so, we recognize a tension between the need for local niche projects to comply with local rules and the need for the global niche to break free from such local rules in order to define universal designs instead.

Literature on technological decline and related concepts is growing. We aim to advance theorizations of the dynamics of technological decline by mobilizing the concept of sociotechnical configuration and a metaphor of its “unraveling.” We take as a case study the declined Soviet computer series Ural. Ural was once among the top three most used computers in the former Soviet Union, but went into decline and got lost even before the dissolution of the country. We find that technological decline is not a trivial process, it is not guaranteed to be gradual but can feature sudden shifts. These shifts can be drops of production and loss of knowledge, as well as efforts to push back. Policy could make use of ongoing processes of decline and try to replicate the effect of the decline of Ural via cessation of access to materials and competences and delegitimation of the technology.

In recent years a growing number of social science studies have pointed out the significance of expectations in science and technology innovation. This special issue of Technology Analysis and Stra...

In this essay we argue that sustainability transitions include two challenges: on the one hand a long-term change to various technologies and infrastructures, while on the other hand ensuring that consumer criteria change in the same move. Transitions that fail to do so will disappoint in the end. We review two sustainability-oriented transitions where criteria have changed: the hygienic transition around 1900 and the waste management transitions at the end of the 20th century. While in these cases the values, perceptions and criteria of people changed as part of the transition, this does not seem to apply to sustainable mobility and energy, where the main target is decarbonisation. What is missing is a reconsideration of individual mobility and conspicuous energy use.

This paper assesses the Dominican Republic’s willingness to pay (WTP) for a conservation, restoration, and sustainable development program for the Bahoruco-Jaragua-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve (RBJBE). Created in 2002, the RBJBE covers approximately 4858 km2, of which approximately 900 km2 correspond to the sea surface. With three core conservation zones, the RBJBE constitutes a complex space with a history of conflicts rooted in exploiting natural resources and social and economic issues. At the same time, it is a biodiversity hotspot of global importance. We present a Contingent Valuation Method to estimate the WTP for a conservation and restoration program called PROBIOSFERA. The non-parametric and parametric estimates of the WTP are DOP 165.00 (≈USD 2.94) and DOP 181.88 (≈USD 3.25), respectively. The socioeconomic variables that positively affect the WTP are income level, educational level, and age. The ecosystem services that are statistically related to WTP are the provisioning and supporting services. Regardless of the monetary valuation scenarios defined, the estimated annual monetized aggregated welfare associated with the RBJBE for Dominican society is DOP 7.2 billion (≈USD 128.1 million).