IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v5y2013i4p1747-1763d25209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public Values and Community Energy: Lessons from the US and UK

Author

Listed:
  • Steven M. Hoffman

    (Department of Political Science, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA)

  • Shane Fudge

    (College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Truro, TR11 4DW, UK)

  • Lissa Pawlisch

    (Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), University of Minnesota's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships & Extension, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA)

  • Angela High-Pippert

    (Department of Political Science, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA)

  • Michael Peters

    (School of Construction Management and Engineering, Whiteknights, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6UR, UK)

  • Joel Haskard

    (Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), University of Minnesota's Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships & Extension, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines some of the normative aspects of “community energy” programmes—defined here as decentralized forms of energy production and distributed energy technologies where production decisions are made as close as possible to sources of consumption. Such projects might also display a degree of separation from the formal political process. The development of a community energy system often generates a great deal of debate about both the degree of public support for such programmes and the values around which programmes ought to be organized. Community energy programmes also raise important issues regarding the energy choice problem, including questions of process , that is, by whom a project is developed and the influence of both community and exogenous actors, as well as certain outcome issues regarding the spatial and social distribution of energy. The case studies, drawn from community energy programmes in both the United States and the United Kingdom, allow for a careful examination of all of these factors, considering in particular the complex interplay and juxtaposition between the ideas of “public value” and “public values”.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven M. Hoffman & Shane Fudge & Lissa Pawlisch & Angela High-Pippert & Michael Peters & Joel Haskard, 2013. "Public Values and Community Energy: Lessons from the US and UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:1747-1763:d:25209
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/4/1747/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/4/1747/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geels, Frank W., 2002. "Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1257-1274, December.
    2. Walker, Gordon & Devine-Wright, Patrick, 2008. "Community renewable energy: What should it mean," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 497-500, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haji Bashi, Mazaher & De Tommasi, Luciano & Le Cam, Andreea & Relaño, Lorena Sánchez & Lyons, Padraig & Mundó, Joana & Pandelieva-Dimova, Ivanka & Schapp, Henrik & Loth-Babut, Karolina & Egger, Christ, 2023. "A review and mapping exercise of energy community regulatory challenges in European member states based on a survey of collective energy actors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    2. Peters, Michael & Fudge, Shane & High-Pippert, Angela & Carragher, Vincent & Hoffman, Steven M., 2018. "Community solar initiatives in the United States of America: Comparisons with – and lessons for – the UK and other European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 355-364.
    3. Soutar, Iain & Devine-Wright, Patrick & Rohse, Melanie & Walker, Chad & Gooding, Luke & Devine-Wright, Hannah & Kay, Imogen, 2022. "Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: Comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    4. Mirosław Struś & Daria Kostecka-Jurczyk & Katarzyna Marak, 2023. "The Role of Local Government in the Bottom-Up Energy Transformation of Poland on the Example of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, June.
    5. Jens Koehrsen, 2017. "Boundary Bridging Arrangements: A Boundary Work Approach to Local Energy Transitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    6. Sena, Kenton & Ochuodho, Thomas O. & Agyeman, Domena A. & Contreras, Marco & Niman, Chad & Eaton, Dan & Yang, Jian, 2022. "Wood bioenergy for rural energy resilience: Suitable site selection and potential economic impacts in Appalachian Kentucky," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    7. Berka, Anna L. & Creamer, Emily, 2018. "Taking stock of the local impacts of community owned renewable energy: A review and research agenda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3400-3419.
    8. Busch, Henner & Ruggiero, Salvatore & Isakovic, Aljosa & Hansen, Teis, 2021. "Policy challenges to community energy in the EU: A systematic review of the scientific literature," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    9. Robin Eagle & Aled Jones & Alison Greig, 2017. "Localism and the environment: A critical review of UK Government localism strategy 2010–2015," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 32(1), pages 55-72, February.
    10. Ruef, Franziska & Ejderyan, Olivier, 2021. "Rowing, steering or anchoring? Public values for geothermal energy governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Willington Ortiz & Ulli Vilsmaier, 2022. "Transcending the Locality of Grassroots Initiatives: Diffusion of Sustainability Knowledge and Practice through Transdisciplinary Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Hicks, Jarra & Ison, Nicola, 2018. "An exploration of the boundaries of ‘community’ in community renewable energy projects: Navigating between motivations and context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 523-534.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lode, M.L. & te Boveldt, G. & Coosemans, T. & Ramirez Camargo, L., 2022. "A transition perspective on Energy Communities: A systematic literature review and research agenda," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. J. Ivan Scrase & Adrian Smith & Florian Kern, 2010. "Dynamics and deliberations: comparing heuristics for low carbon innovation policy," SPRU Working Paper Series 184, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Warneryd, Martin & Håkansson, Maria & Karltorp, Kersti, 2020. "Unpacking the complexity of community microgrids: A review of institutions’ roles for development of microgrids," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. Soares, N. & Martins, A.G. & Carvalho, A.L. & Caldeira, C. & Du, C. & Castanheira, É. & Rodrigues, E. & Oliveira, G. & Pereira, G.I. & Bastos, J. & Ferreira, J.P. & Ribeiro, L.A. & Figueiredo, N.C. & , 2018. "The challenging paradigm of interrelated energy systems towards a more sustainable future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 171-193.
    5. Forman, Alister, 2017. "Energy justice at the end of the wire: Enacting community energy and equity in Wales," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 649-657.
    6. Thomas Hoppe & Antonia Graf & Beau Warbroek & Imke Lammers & Isabella Lepping, 2015. "Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-32, February.
    7. Jonathan Rutherford & Olivier Coutard, 2014. "Urban Energy Transitions: Places, Processes and Politics of Socio-technical Change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(7), pages 1353-1377, May.
    8. Filippo Celata & Venere Stefania sanna, "undated". "Community activism and sustainability: a multi-dimensional assessment," Working Papers 137/14, Sapienza University of Rome, Metodi e Modelli per l'Economia, il Territorio e la Finanza MEMOTEF.
    9. Bomberg, Elizabeth & McEwen, Nicola, 2012. "Mobilizing community energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 435-444.
    10. Fábio T. F. Silva & Alexandre Szklo & Amanda Vinhoza & Ana Célia Nogueira & André F. P. Lucena & Antônio Marcos Mendonça & Camilla Marcolino & Felipe Nunes & Francielle M. Carvalho & Isabela Tagomori , 2022. "Inter-sectoral prioritization of climate technologies: insights from a Technology Needs Assessment for mitigation in Brazil," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(7), pages 1-39, October.
    11. Hirt, Léon F. & Sahakian, Marlyne & Trutnevyte, Evelina, 2022. "What subnational imaginaries for solar PV? The case of the Swiss energy transition," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. John A. Mathews, 2020. "Schumpeterian economic dynamics of greening: propagation of green eco-platforms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 929-948, September.
    13. Marco Gallegati, 2019. "A system for dating long wave phases in economic development," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 803-822, July.
    14. Mahzouni, Arian, 2019. "The role of institutional entrepreneurship in emerging energy communities: The town of St. Peter in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 297-308.
    15. Oliver Falck & Anita Fichtl & Tobias Lohse & Friederike Welter & Heike Belitz & Cedric von der Hellen & Carsten Dreher & Carsten Schwäbe & Dietmar Harhoff & Monika Schnitzer & Uschi Backes-Gellner & C, 2019. "Steuerliche Forschungsförderung: Wichtiger Impuls für FuE-Aktivitäten oder zu wenig zielgerichtet?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 72(09), pages 03-25, May.
    16. Hogan, Jessica L. & Warren, Charles R. & Simpson, Michael & McCauley, Darren, 2022. "What makes local energy projects acceptable? Probing the connection between ownership structures and community acceptance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    17. Süsser, Diana & Döring, Martin & Ratter, Beate M.W., 2017. "Harvesting energy: Place and local entrepreneurship in community-based renewable energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 332-341.
    18. Wiegand, Julia, 2017. "Dezentrale Stromerzeugung als Chance zur Stärkung der Energie-Resilienz: Eine qualitative Analyse kommunaler Strategien im Raum Unna," Wuppertaler Studienarbeiten zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, volume 11, number 11.
    19. Oliver Wagner & Thomas Adisorn & Lena Tholen & Dagmar Kiyar, 2020. "Surviving the Energy Transition: Development of a Proposal for Evaluating Sustainable Business Models for Incumbents in Germany’s Electricity Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    20. Jordi Molas-Gallart & Alejandra Boni & Sandro Giachi & Johan Schot, 2021. "A formative approach to the evaluation of Transformative Innovation Policies [The Need for Reflexive Evaluation Approaches in Development Cooperation]," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(4), pages 431-442.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:1747-1763:d:25209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.