Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems

Iain Soutar; Patrick Devine-Wright; Melanie Rohse; Chad Walker; Luke Gooding; Hannah Devine-Wright; Imogen Kay

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113279

Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems

Iain Soutar^*, Patrick Devine-Wright, Melanie Rohse, Chad Walker, Luke Gooding, Hannah Devine-Wright, Imogen Kay

^*Corresponding author for this work

Politics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Energy transitions require engagement with users, local communities and wider publics in order to be fair, acceptable and, ultimately, successful. Here we focus on the development of decentralised energy systems instigated by central government. Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES), involving low carbon generation, demand sources and smart technologies in a geographically-bounded location, are important but unexplored contexts for public engagement. Drawing on 23 interviews with partner organisations in 12 UK SLES projects, we investigate the targets, methods and rationales of engagement. Partners engage a range of user and community groups around multiple energy system components using a variety of methods, directly and via intermediary organisations. Project size is not a major influence on breadth and intensity of engagement. Project partners rationalise practices with reference to characterisations of users and engagement, and practices are conditioned by a range of factors (e.g. technological boundaries, place, partners involved, and the wider organisational context within which SLES projects take place). We highlight a need for future SLES policy to emphasise engagement as a key facet, institute systematic social learning between SLES projects, and consider how to engage publics beyond the boundaries of individual projects.

Original language	English
Article number	113279
Number of pages	15
Journal	Energy Policy
Volume	171
Early online date	17 Oct 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113279
Publication status	Published - 31 Dec 2022

Funding

This research was funded by the Energy Revolution Research Consortium (EnergyRev) as part of the Prospering From the Energy Revolution (PFER) funding programme, Grant Ref: EP/S031863/1 , and was further supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) , Grant Numbers 16/SP/3804 and 13/RC/2077 . First and foremost, while many decentralisation efforts (e.g. ICES, smart cities) typically exist as discrete developments, SLES projects are distinct in that they exist as part of a larger programme of decentralisation funded and administered by the central government. SLES projects need to be understood in terms of the policy contexts of state-led decentralised energy in which they exist, not least because these contexts might shape engagement activities in projects.Our research focuses on 12 SLES projects carried out under a £102m4 UK Government funded programme, Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) (UKRI, 2022). As such, we take a comparative case study approach, examining engagement by multiple projects operating in a comparable set of circumstances. Such an approach is well-suited to examining effects beyond a single projects, and has been used in similar analyses elsewhere (e.g. Musall and Kuik, 2011; Oteman et al., 2014; Sovacool, 2014).Second, the PFER funding calls for Demonstration and Design cohorts required projects to focus specifically on the design and demonstration of SLES business models, to provide “energy in ways that consumers want” (Innovate UK, 2018), echoing a relatively narrow framing of people as consumers adopted across UK energy policy more generally (Parrish et al., 2021). While this is reflected in some of the rationalities expressed by project partners, the data presented in Table 4 suggests that project partners are evidently willing and able to go beyond narrow characterisations of people as consumers.This research was funded by the Energy Revolution Research Consortium (EnergyRev) as part of the Prospering From the Energy Revolution (PFER) funding programme, Grant Ref: EP/S031863/1, and was further supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Grant Numbers 16/SP/3804 and 13/RC/2077.

Keywords

Decentralisation
Energy transitions
Engagement
Participation
Policy
Public

Access to Document

10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113279Licence: CC BY 4.0

Soutar-etal-EP-2022-comparing-emergent-state-led-smart-local-energy-systemsFinal published version, 1.61 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Energy Revolution Research Consortium - Core - EnergyREV (ISCF)
McArthur, S. (Principal Investigator), Ford, R. (Co-investigator) & Hannon, M. (Co-investigator)
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
1/12/18 → 31/03/23
Project: Research

Cite this

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title = "Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems",

abstract = "Energy transitions require engagement with users, local communities and wider publics in order to be fair, acceptable and, ultimately, successful. Here we focus on the development of decentralised energy systems instigated by central government. Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES), involving low carbon generation, demand sources and smart technologies in a geographically-bounded location, are important but unexplored contexts for public engagement. Drawing on 23 interviews with partner organisations in 12 UK SLES projects, we investigate the targets, methods and rationales of engagement. Partners engage a range of user and community groups around multiple energy system components using a variety of methods, directly and via intermediary organisations. Project size is not a major influence on breadth and intensity of engagement. Project partners rationalise practices with reference to characterisations of users and engagement, and practices are conditioned by a range of factors (e.g. technological boundaries, place, partners involved, and the wider organisational context within which SLES projects take place). We highlight a need for future SLES policy to emphasise engagement as a key facet, institute systematic social learning between SLES projects, and consider how to engage publics beyond the boundaries of individual projects.",

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AU - Soutar, Iain

AU - Devine-Wright, Patrick

AU - Rohse, Melanie

AU - Walker, Chad

AU - Gooding, Luke

AU - Devine-Wright, Hannah

AU - Kay, Imogen

PY - 2022/12/31

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N2 - Energy transitions require engagement with users, local communities and wider publics in order to be fair, acceptable and, ultimately, successful. Here we focus on the development of decentralised energy systems instigated by central government. Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES), involving low carbon generation, demand sources and smart technologies in a geographically-bounded location, are important but unexplored contexts for public engagement. Drawing on 23 interviews with partner organisations in 12 UK SLES projects, we investigate the targets, methods and rationales of engagement. Partners engage a range of user and community groups around multiple energy system components using a variety of methods, directly and via intermediary organisations. Project size is not a major influence on breadth and intensity of engagement. Project partners rationalise practices with reference to characterisations of users and engagement, and practices are conditioned by a range of factors (e.g. technological boundaries, place, partners involved, and the wider organisational context within which SLES projects take place). We highlight a need for future SLES policy to emphasise engagement as a key facet, institute systematic social learning between SLES projects, and consider how to engage publics beyond the boundaries of individual projects.

AB - Energy transitions require engagement with users, local communities and wider publics in order to be fair, acceptable and, ultimately, successful. Here we focus on the development of decentralised energy systems instigated by central government. Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES), involving low carbon generation, demand sources and smart technologies in a geographically-bounded location, are important but unexplored contexts for public engagement. Drawing on 23 interviews with partner organisations in 12 UK SLES projects, we investigate the targets, methods and rationales of engagement. Partners engage a range of user and community groups around multiple energy system components using a variety of methods, directly and via intermediary organisations. Project size is not a major influence on breadth and intensity of engagement. Project partners rationalise practices with reference to characterisations of users and engagement, and practices are conditioned by a range of factors (e.g. technological boundaries, place, partners involved, and the wider organisational context within which SLES projects take place). We highlight a need for future SLES policy to emphasise engagement as a key facet, institute systematic social learning between SLES projects, and consider how to engage publics beyond the boundaries of individual projects.

KW - Decentralisation

KW - Energy transitions

KW - Engagement

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SN - 0301-4215

VL - 171

JO - Energy Policy

JF - Energy Policy

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Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

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Energy Revolution Research Consortium - Core - EnergyREV (ISCF)

Cite this