Abstract
English Summary
This dissertation monograph investigates village-level solar power supply, which is one of the potential solutions for providing access to basic electricity services for people who are not served by conventional electricity grids. The first research question is: How can village-level solar power supply systems be implemented in ways that make them well-functioning and viable in the long run, useful for the community members and widely implemented and used? The dissertation furthermore analyses transfer of social and technical innovations between different socio-cultural settings, including how a translation of innovations to different social contexts may take place, asking a second research question: How can social and technical innovations on local infrastructure systems be transferred between geographical contexts?
The dissertation includes a case study on village-level solar power supply in India and explores how knowledge obtained in India is transferred to a new local and national context in Kenya. Solar power supply systems in Indian and Kenyan villages are analysed in terms of how they function in practice and why including how the local systems are influenced by national framework conditions. The process of transferring social and technical innovations between India and Kenya is analysed in terms of how the outcomes occurred, including how the social and technological innovations created in one socio-cultural setting were investigated and brought into a different local and national context with similar challenges in infrastructure provision.
The dissertation analyses how a socio-technical systems perspective can be used to better understand the human and social aspects of implementation, sustenance and expansion of village-level power provision without losing sight of the technical and economic aspects. This perspective is combined with other approaches to social transformation, renewable energy systems, and technology transfer, and directs attention to people’s everyday challenges and practices at the local level. A framework of analysis for local case studies of socio-technical innovations is developed and applied. Moreover, the dissertation examines how a socio-technical systems perspective can be helpful also in studies of spatial transfer of innovations.
The data material includes qualitative interviews, participant observation and project documentation, complemented with quantitative data and statistics. The study builds on trans-disciplinary research and action research; practical development of plans for a local electricity supply system in Kenya, as well as implementation, adjustment and improvements based on research results generated underway.
The dissertation argues that research and practice on how to achieve electricity for all need to consider social and geographical contexts at different levels, and presents examples of how social contexts may influence the design and functioning of infrastructures. The dissertation shows that facilitating creative, inclusive and committed learning processes is important both for the development of better and more inclusive energy models, for attempts at up-scaling, and for spatial transfer of innovations. The analysis contributes to the knowledge on how socio-technical innovation with emphasis on equity and sustainability might be stimulated, despite barriers constituted by established energy regimes and other social structures.
Norsk sammendrag
Tilgang til elektrisk lys og annen bruk av strøm har stor betydning for menneskers livskvalitet og muligheter. Avhandlingen utforsker derfor løsninger som kan nå mennesker som fortsatt faller utenfor eksisterende modeller for strømforsyning. I tillegg undersøkes mulige strategier for overføring av slike sosiale og teknologiske innovasjoner mellom land og mellom lokalsamfunn.
Avhandlingen er inspirert av at pionérer både i og utenfor utviklingsland lenge har arbeidet for å gjøre det mulig for flere mennesker å få tilgang til elektrisitet, for eksempel gjennom solcellekraftverk på landsbynivå. Både myndigheter, firmaer, energieksperter, organisasjoner og forskere har gjort seg mange viktige erfaringer på området. Slike erfaringer dokumenteres og analyseres i avhandlingen.
Dette forskningsarbeidet bidrar med et samfunnsvitenskapelig perspektiv innenfor et felt som domineres av tekniske og økonomiske analyser. Gjennom å granske erfaringer fra landsbyer i India og Kenya gir avhandlingen innblikk i et mangfold av faktorer som avgjør hvordan teknologiske løsninger passer i et samfunn og hvordan de fungerer i praksis. Et viktig aspekt er samspillet mellom faktorer på nasjonalt og internasjonalt nivå og muligheter og begrensninger for aktører på lokalt nivå.
Avhandlingen understreker at teknologi- og kunnskapsoverføring mellom land bør være et likeverdig samarbeid basert på et felles engasjement. Langsiktige, praktisk orienterte samarbeidsprosjekter kan bidra til fruktbare, felles læringsprosesser og «system-innovasjon» tilpasset ulike samfunnsforhold. Ulike deltakere i slike innovasjonsprosesser kan kombinere et mangfold av perspektiver basert på ulike utdannelser, arbeidserfaringer, sosial og kulturell bakgrunn.