Energy As A Sociotechnical Problem

Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem offers an innovative approach to equip interdisciplinary research on sociotechnical transitions with coherence and focus. The book emphasizes sociotechnical problems in three analytical dimensions: - In the control dimension, contributing authors examine how control can be maintained despite increasing complexity and uncertainty, e.g., in power grid operations or on energy markets; - In the change dimension, the authors explore if and how change is possible despite the need for stable orientation, e.g., regarding discourses, real-world labs and learning; - Finally, in the action dimension, the authors analyze how the ability to act on a permanent basis is sustained despite opaqueness and ignorance, exemplified by the work on trust, capabilities or individual motives. Drawing on contributions from engineering, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology, the book assembles a range of classic and current themes including innovation, resilience, institutional economics, design or education. Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem presents the ongoing transformation of the energy complex as a multidimensional process, in which the analytical dimensions interact with each other in shaping the energy future. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy science and environmental social science more generally, as well as to practitioners working within the field of energy policy.

This collection explores why engineering communication constitutes sociotechnical communication. Sociotechnical communication acknowledges that engineering communication occurs not in a vacuum but shapes and is shaped by multiple social forces. Through diverse research cases, the authors show how sociotechnical communication disrupts common myths in engineering communication: the myth that communication can be purely technical and neutral, and that data speak for themselves. The book highlights these myths, considering first how styles, types, and means of sociotechnical communication played pivotal—and differing—roles in the evolution of wind power technology in Denmark and Germany. The role of myth in engineering blogs in also examined, wherein the effect of engineers maintaining "objective" or "neutral" personae, accentuating technical facts over their social relevance, and eschewing controversy, is to decrease public interest in engineering issues. We see the myths emerge again via product development engineers, whose narrow technical roles constrain their identities and may contribute to constraining their design innovation capacities, in contrast to more holistic, flexible spaces that foster innovation. The myths are also apparent in constructing bridges across Millennial-Baby Boomer generational divides, to facilitate engineering collaboration and knowledge transfer among engineers. Finally, the myths are situated in light of related myths and broader research trends in engineering communication. This book was originally published as a special issue of Engineering Studies.

This book offers an interdisciplinary discussion of the fundamental issues concerning policies for sustainable transition to renewable energies from the perspectives of sociologists, physicists, engineers, economists, anthropologists, biologists, ecologists and policy analysts. Adopting a combined approach, these are analysed taking both complex systems and social practice theories into consideration to provide deeper insights into the evolution of energy systems. The book then draws a series of important conclusions and makes recommendations for the research community and policy makers involved in the design and implementation of policies for sustainable energy transitions.

This book makes a case for a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach to energy research—one that brings more of the social sciences to bear. Featuring eight studies from across the spectrum of the social sciences, each applying multiple disciplines to one or more energy-related problems, the book demonstrates the strong analytical and policy-making potential of such a broadened perspective. Case studies include: energy transitions of households in developing countries, the ‘curse of oil’, politics and visions for renewables, economics and ethics in emissions trading, and carbon capture and storage.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781351127264, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Meeting the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature increases to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels demands rapid reductions in global carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing energy demand has a central role in achieving this goal, but existing policy initiatives have been largely incremental in terms of the technological and behavioural changes they encourage. Against this background, this book develops a sociotechnical approach to the challenge of reducing energy demand and illustrates this with a number of empirical case studies from the United Kingdom. In doing so, it explores the emergence, diffusion and impact of low-energy innovations, including electric vehicles and smart meters. The book has the dual aim of improving the academic understanding of sociotechnical transitions and energy demand and providing practical recommendations for public policy. Combining an impressive range of contributions from key thinkers in the field, this book will be of great interest to energy students, scholars and decision-makers.

The advent of connected, smart technologies for the built environment may promise a significant value that has to be reached to develop digital city models. At the international level, the role of digital twin is strictly related to massive amounts of data that need to be processed, which proposes several challenges in terms of digital technologies capability, computing, interoperability, simulation, calibration, and representation. In these terms, the development of 3D parametric models as digital twins to evaluate energy assessment of private and public buildings is considered one of the main challenges of the last years. The ability to gather, manage, and communicate contents related to energy saving in buildings for the development of smart cities must be considered a specificity in the age of connection to increase citizen awareness of these fields. The Handbook of Research on Developing Smart Cities Based on Digital Twins contains in-depth research focused on the description of methods, processes, and tools that can be adopted to achieve smart city goals. The book presents a valid medium for disseminating innovative data management methods related to smart city topics. While highlighting topics such as data visualization, a web-based ICT platform, and data-sharing methods, this book is ideally intended for researchers in the building industry, energy, and computer science fields; public administrators; building managers; and energy professionals along with practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the implementation of smart technologies for the built environment.

This book elucidates what it means to transition to alternative sources of energy and discusses the potential for this energy transition to be a more democratic process. The book dynamically describes a recent sociotechnical study of a number of energy transitions occurring in several countries - France, Germany and Tunisia, and involving different energy technologies - including solar, on/off-shore wind, smart grids, biomass, low-energy buildings, and carbon capture and storage. Drawing on a pragmatist tradition of social inquiry, the authors examine the consequences of energy transition processes for the actors and entities that are affected by them, as well as the spaces for political participation they offer. This critical inquiry is organised according to foundational categories that have defined the energy transition - ‘renewable’ energy resources, markets, economic instruments, technological demonstration, spatiality (‘scale’) and temporality (‘horizon(s)’). Using a set of select case studies, this book systematically investigates the role these categories play in the current developments in energy transitions.

This book explores how, in the wake of the Anthropocene, the growing call for urgent decarbonisation and accelerated energy transitions might have unintended consequences for energy poverty, justice and democracy, especially in the global South. Dilemmas of Energy Transitions in the Global South brings together theoretical and empirical contributions focused on rethinking energy transitions conceptually from and for the global South, and highlights issues of justice and inclusivity. It argues that while urgency is critical for energy transitions in a climate-changed world, we must be wary of conflating goals and processes, and enquire what urgency means for due process. Drawing from a range of authors with expertise spanning environmental justice, design theory, ethics of technology, conflict and gender, it examines case studies from countries including Bolivia, Sri Lanka, India, The Gambia and Lebanon in order to expand our understanding of what energy transitions are, and how just energy transitions can be done in different parts of the world. Overall, driven by a postcolonial and decolonial sensibility, this book brings to the fore new concepts and ideas to help balance the demands of justice and urgency, to flag relevant but often overlooked issues, and to provide new pathways forward. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, environmental justice, climate change and developing countries. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003052821 has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.