Society, Technology, and the Sustainable Provision of Electricity

Abstract

A direction which sustainable development in energy systems could take is towards electricity ‘co-provision.’ Here, centralised fossil-powered generation is partly replaced by decentralised, renewable micro generation infrastructure supplementing a leaner, more dynamic national grid fuelled by diverse range of sustainable power sources. Pursuing this path would require a major overhaul in existing technical systems of energy provision. The common theme which runs through much of the diverse literature on technology change emphasises the sociotechnical nature of change processes, which is to say that it treats technology and technical systems as the material embodiment of social choices. This means that the process of developing energy infrastructure into a sustainable system of electricity co-provision cannot simply be ‘enabled’ by technology, conceived of as an exogenous variable ‘impacting’ society. It is, in fact, a process of endogenous societal change: a sociotechnical transition. This thesis examines the dynamics of this transition with regards to electricity co-provision. In doing so, it presents and seeks to problematize simplistic discourses on technology change, and to draw back from the narrow conception of technical innovation found in these discourses. It analyses existing systems of energy provision alongside individual energy project case studies, which represent novel sociotechnical configurations of artefacts, institutions, and actors in electricity co-provision experiments. It applies sociotechnical transitions theory and its multi-level perspective in order to link the micro and the macro levels within this analysis. The thesis attempts to highlight both the promise in the emerging configuration of co-provision technologies and actors, but also the doubt that hangs over any vision of a sustainable sociotechnical transition. To do this it draws attention to the multiple paths along which sociotechnical change could unfold, but which are ‘closed off’ by a number of predominantly political factors. It is shown that, ultimately, the future shape of technical systems is not simply a question of technology but of social choice. Trying to better understand who is able to influence these choices, and who is locked out of the process, is an important area of enquiry in environment and development studies. This thesis aims to contribute to this area of enquiry, specifically as it relates to the sustainable provision of electricity.