• Energy Research

Abstract One of the many barriers to the incorporation of local and community actors in emerging energy governance structures and policy delivery mechanisms is the lack of thorough understanding of how they work in practice, and how best to support and develop effective local energy governance. Taking a meso-level perspective and a network approach to governance, this paper sheds some new light on this issue, by focusing on the relation, channels of communication and interactions between low carbon community groups (LCCGs) and other actors. Based on data gathered from LCCGs in Oxfordshire, UK, via network survey and interviews the research maps the relations in terms of the exchanges of information and financial support, and presents a relation-based structure of local energy governance. Analysis reveals the intensity of energy related information exchanges that is taking place at the county level and highlights the centrality of intermediary organization in facilitating information flow. The analysis also identifies actors that are not very dominant in their amount of exchanges, but fill ‘weak-tie’ functions between otherwise disconnected LCCGs or other actors in the network. As an analytical tool the analysis could be useful for various state and non-state actors that want to better understand and support – financially and otherwise – actors that enable energy related local action.

A field study of 50 households in a collective community in Israel provides initial support for the hypotheses about the relations between actors’ agency, capacity and electricity demand reduction. ‘Agency’ refers to actors’ willingness and ability to make their own free choices and ‘capacity’ refers to actors’ ability to perform the choices they made. According to the hypotheses, change is more likely to happen when actors’ levels of agency and capacity are high; unlikely to happen when the levels are low and uncertain when there is a mismatch between levels of agency and capacity (one is high and the other low). In the research, levels of agency and capacity regarding 11 energy saving actions were self-reported and electricity consumption was metered before and during energy saving campaign. Findings show that levels of agency were lower than those of capacity for no-cost actions which require high engagement, while levels of capacity were lower than those of agency for high-cost action which require low engagement. In addition, households with high agency and high capacity reduced their electricity consumption by 9.39 % (on average); those with low agency and low capacity increased their consumption by 6.67 %; and those with a mismatch between agency and capacity reduced their consumption by 1.91 %.

Abstract Background Renewable energy (RE) systems are becoming a central component of the clean energy transition and are often seen as the way to combat climate change. Their establishment requires innovation, investments, and deployment policies for emerging technologies. Governments around the world are increasingly trying to create and support the energy-tech and climate-tech innovation ecosystems in their attempt to promote an innovation-supporting environment. However, energy innovation policies are often aligned with the dichotomous notion of technology-push and market-pull and overlook the social, political, and cultural contexts in which RE innovative technologies are embedded, and the multiple actors and interactions that are associated with their development. By combining the Middle-Out Perspective (MOP) and innovation literature, this paper argues that an innovation ecosystem could be weaved from the middle-out. Methods This paper analyzes the case of ‘Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative’ and Israel’s RE innovation ecosystem creation through the lens of the MOP and applies a socio-technical interpretation to the push and pull terminology. Process tracing methodology was applied to trace a sequence of events to determine whether an actor was pushed or pulled, the formation of a network of actors, and its evolvement to an energy innovation ecosystem from the middle-out. Data for the analysis were collected from interviews, policy papers, media articles, and Governmental decisions. Results The analysis demonstrates how middle actors push the implementation of RE technologies in Israel, and at the same time pull decision-makers and other middle actors to promote the low carbon transition. The push and pull forces and the interactions between actors lead to the engagement of new stakeholders in the innovation network, the adoption of more ambitious RE targets and supporting policies, and the creation of an effective RE innovation ecosystem. Conclusions This paper uses the MOP as an analytical framework and the push and pull terminology to demonstrate how a middle actor initiates and develops an actor-network by interacting with other actors. As this network broadens, it forms an effective innovation ecosystem. A network of actors has the potential to lead change, provide innovative ideas, initiate research, encourage investments, create employment possibilities, and promote regional sustainable development.

This paper considers bottled water with respect to the three pillars of sustainability: economic viability, environmental impacts, and social equity. Per-capita consumption of bottled water has been growing steadily and is the fastest-growing sector of the packaged beverages industry, with expected annual growth of 10% until 2026. Most bottled water is sold in PET containers, and various impacts are evident along all phases of the product lifecycle. This paper reviews market trends and forecasts, lifecycle estimates of energy consumption, associated air pollution and GHG emissions, water footprint, and waste generation. Concerns around human and ecosystem health due to pollution, land use changes, storage conditions, microplastics, and leaching from containers are described, as well as local environmental benefits from companies’ efforts to preserve the quality of their source water. Growing awareness of the cumulative negative impacts of bottled water have pushed the industry to voluntarily improve its performance. Yet, as growth continues, further actions should focus on stricter regulation and on the provision of more sustainable, affordable, available, and trusted alternatives. Gaps remain in knowledge of the effects of bottled water over its full life cycle.

Abstract This paper addresses the costs and benefits associated with microgrid development relative to the costs and benefits of conventional generation interconnected to a bulk transmission and distribution grid. The costs and benefits are classified as: environmental (avoided environmental damage costs); economic (mainly employment multiplier effects); deferral or avoidance of transmission and distribution investment costs; and greater access to electricity supply that is highly reliable and resilient. Deficiencies due to the lack of relevant available data and of research on economic modeling of microgrids at the societal level are discussed. The context in which these costs and benefits are measured is the Israeli electricity market, which features a highly centralized, vertically integrated electricity company (Israel Electric Corporation, IEC) with some legacy distribution companies. Moreover, because Israel’s transmission and distribution infrastructure investment have declined significantly over the past several years, the Israeli market provides a useful basis for analyses of microgrids as an alternative to such large-scale investments. The analysis reveals that under reasonable assumptions reflecting the current state of microgrid technologies, microgrids may constitute a viable, cost-effective alternative to additional central- station generation requiring new investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure. Specifically, using reasonable assumptions regarding 10-MW incremental investments in a microgrid and in central-station generation with necessary transmission and distribution investments, the analysis indicates that, when considering the reliability, T&D investment deferral, local economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits of each alternative, the net benefits to the Israeli economy from selecting the incremental 10-MW investment in a representative Israeli microgrid may exceed $13,000,000 per year. However, when local economic benefits are not considered, the net benefits decline to approximately $260,000 per year. For perspective, generation capacity additions by the Israel Electric Corporation have averaged 166 MW from 2008 through 2018, reaching 13,775 MW of installed capacity by the end of 2018. Total annual capital investment has averaged approximately $1 billion since 2015, about $400 million of which has been in the generation sector. The paper concludes with future research directions, with an emphasis on integrating engineering analysis, scenario simulation, flexibility, and quantifying social/equity (“fairness”) effects of microgrids.

Abstract The European Commission envisages smart home technology (SHT) as reducing energy costs and simplifying consumer engagement in a low-carbon-energy retail market without inconveniencing them. With consumers’ consent, SHT allows continuous seamless interaction between the home and the smart grid, offering the grid ongoing demand flexibility resources for reshaping the demand curve. This study assesses perceptions of a nontechnophobic segment of the Israeli public (N = 554) regarding demand flexibility and energy management through SHT. Sociodemographic variables, personality traits, and attitudes toward smart homes and demand flexibility through SHT were examined as predictors of consumers’ interest in adopting a smart home and in demand flexibility through SHT. In a hierarchical linear regression model, gender, income, openness to experience, and positive and negative attitudes toward SHT explained 64.4% of the variance in interest in smart homes. Age, openness to experience, a positive attitude toward smart homes, and perceived benefits of demand flexibility explained 31.4% of the variance in interest in demand flexibility through SHT. Regarding respondents’ willingness to allow SHT to manage appliances, dishwashers scored the highest and refrigerators, the lowest. Findings indicate that prospective adopters value the perceived benefits of comfort and convenience over risks associated with smart home technology.

Abstract In a first of its kind, controlled field study, a middle-out strategy (MOS) was developed and applied in an aim to shave mid-week summer peak demand. The MOS focuses on middle actors as agents that can induce change from the middle-out, exerting influence via their networks in three directions: downstream (on end-users), upstream (on suppliers and regulators) and sideways (on other communities). The study was conducted in the summer of 2018 in two Israeli local communities (n = 66, n =258 households) and focused on the downstream impact. In both communities: (a) demand was monitored via smart meters, (b) generic and tailored text messages were sent twice a week during peak hours, and (c) economic incentive was offered to households that either saved 10% of their electricity during peak hours compared to the previous year, or 10% in August 2018 compared to July 2018. In one community, an additional four engagement activities took place. All interventions were mediated through local middle actors and middle platforms and differed in the level of the middle actors’ involvement. Additional data was collected via survey and interviews. A downstream impact was demonstrated when about one-third of the participating households reduced their peak consumption by 10%, with an average reduction of 4.5–6%. A sideways impact was indicated when middle actors from similar communities expressed an interest in conducting such a project in the future. An upstream impact was indicated when a significant actor in the electricity sector expressed an interest in supporting similar future projects.