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- All Subjects: energy
- All Subjects: Energy Justice
- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
Transitioning towards low-carbon energy systems requires participation from a diversity of organizations, governments, and actors. Yet it is still unclear who, when, how much, and what types of participation are needed to realize such transformations. I address this gap by analyzing the role of participation in energy transitions using interviews, participant observation, document analyses, and novel visualization approaches deployed in the USA and Mexican contexts. I offer a framework to explore how engagement in energy transitions unfolds over time and deploy the framework to 1) investigate the role of engagement in decreasing the consumption of gas and electricity at municipal and residential levels in 12 US communities during a three-year competition (2014-2017) organized by Georgetown University; and 2) assess the acceptance and longevity of solar projects that grant electricity access to rural and dispersed Indigenous Ralámuli communities in Chihuahua, México. I found that wider and deeper participation does not always secure lower energy consumption in the US case, which highlights the need to tailor participation for specific goals. Results from Ralámuli communities suggest that the benefits of participation reach a limit; that is, when high participation surpassed the budget (in the form of cash/money and time availability) of solar users, participation became detrimental to user satisfaction and technology acceptance. Lastly, the analysis of how participation occurred in solar home systems with longer longevity (more than five years of use) showed that maintenance and operation costs (e.g. battery replacements) are the greatest barriers to longevity, while knowledge and capacity building might be elements driving longer longevity. Recommendations include: (1) offering clear information in the user’s first language about the costs and maintenance of solar systems, (2) seeking ideas from solar users at the early stages of solar programs, and (3) reducing costs through understanding electricity needs and offering collective forms of ownership. My work expands the theoretical understanding of the role of participation in energy transitions and offers practical resources for practitioners and researchers to facilitate a critical reflection on how participation influences desirable outcomes in different contexts, including communities in the global North and South.
ContributorsMorales Guerrero, Jorge (Author) / Karwat, Darshan (Thesis advisor) / Breetz, Hanna (Committee member) / Larson, Kelli (Committee member) / Berbés-Blázquez, Marta (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Global decarbonization requires a large-scale shift to sustainable energy sources. Innovation will be a key enabler of this global energy transition. Although the energy transition and innovation literatures overwhelmingly focus on the Global North, energy innovation is arguably even more important for the Global South because it can enable them to grow their energy demand and power their development with sustainable resources. This dissertation examines three aspects of energy innovation, focusing on Mexico, to advance the understanding of innovation systems and identify policy levers for accelerating energy innovation in emerging economies. The first project utilizes econometric models to assess patenting drivers for renewable energy (wind and solar) and enabling technologies (energy storage, high voltage direct current technologies, hydrogen technologies, and fuel cells) across 34 countries, including Mexico. The examination of enabling technologies is a particular contribution, since most research on energy innovation focuses on renewable generation technologies. This research finds that policies have differential effects on renewable technologies versus enabling technology, with innovation in enabling technologies lagging behind the deployment of renewable energy. Although renewable energy policies have some spillover effects on enabling technologies, this research suggests that targeted policy instruments for enabling technologies may be needed for global decarbonization.
The second and third projects apply the innovation systems framework to understand energy innovation in Mexico. The second project analyzes the sectoral innovation system (SIS) for wind and solar technologies, using expert interviews to evaluate SIS structure and functions systemically. It finds that this innovation system is susceptible to changes in its structure, specifically institutional modifications, and encounters cultural and social aspects that reduce its performance. Further, it finds that non-government organizations and local governments are trying to support the SIS, but their efforts are hampered by low participation from the federal government.
The third project studies the technology innovation system (TIS) for green hydrogen, an emerging industrial opportunity for Latin America. It evaluates this TIS's functionality and identifies 22 initiatives to improve its performance by interviewing green hydrogen experts in Mexico. The most important initiatives for strengthening the green hydrogen TIS are information campaigns, policy and regulation (taxes, subsidies, standards, and industrial policies), pilot or demonstration projects, and professional training.
Overall, this dissertation contributes to the nexus of energy transition and innovation studies by advancing the understanding of energy innovation in an emerging economy.
ContributorsAguiar Hernandez, Carlos Gabriel (Author) / Breetz, Hanna (Thesis advisor) / Parker, Nathan (Committee member) / Solis, Dario (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
As India expanded its grid infrastructure, decentralized renewable energy technologies, such as off-grid solar, also emerged in parallel as an electrification solution. This dissertation critically examines the role of off-grid solar in facilitating rural electrification efforts in India. Specifically, it applies the frameworks of the multi-level perspective, capabilities approach, and energy justice to achieve three objectives: (1) trace the evolution of off-grid solar in India; (2) understand the role of solar micro-grids in improving household capabilities and well-being; (1) examine whether and how community-scale solar micro-grids can operate as just means of electrification. This research relies on qualitative case-study methods. The historical research in Paper 1 is based on published policy documents and interviews with energy experts in India. It finds that landscape-regime-niche actor relations and politics were crucial in shaping off-grid solar transition outcomes. There is also a narrative component, as the key narratives of energy security, environmental degradation, climate change and energy for development converged to create spaces for state and non-state interactions that could nurture the development of off-grid solar. The community-level research in Papers 2 and 3 analyze a local energy initiative of community operated solar micro-grid using semi-structured interviews and participant observations from three villages in Maharashtra. Solar micro-grids play an important part in expanding people’s choices and opportunities. The benefits are not uniform across all people, however. Increases in energy-related capabilities vary by economic class and gender, and to some extent this means certain biases can get reinforced. In addition, the inability of solar micro-grids to keep up with the changing electrification landscape and daily practices means that the challenges of affordability, reliability and community engagement emerged as important concerns over-time. Empirically, this dissertation finds that off-grid energy initiatives must be carefully designed to be in alignment with local values and realities. Theoretically, it adds to debates on justice in energy transitions by showcasing the regime-led innovations, and temporality elements of energy justice local energy initiatives.
ContributorsRajagopalan, Sushil (Author) / Breetz, Hanna (Thesis advisor) / Klinsky, Sonja (Thesis advisor) / Singh, Kartikeya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021