Ecological Modernisation and renewables David Toke Senior Lecturer
Ecological Modernisation and renewables David Toke, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy, University of Birmingham
Electricity regime – niche market?
Ecological modernisation • Mainstream technology-market focus (Mol, Huber, Janicke etc) • Critical social movement deliberative focus (Hajer, Christoff)
social movement activity in Renewable Energy • Idealism as an initial substitute for economic rationality (bridge to EM) • Cosmology, technology, organisation (Jamison)
Cosmology
German Biogas Association http: //www. biogas. org/
Danish ‘bricolage’ (Karnoe) • Energy crisis, anti-nuclear ideals • Danish rural co-op tradition • Sharing knowledge for common good
Marine Current Turbines
Intermediate technology (Schumacher)
Power from below • ‘co-evolution’ of technology (Geels 2004) • Uses as renewable energy producers
Pelamis Wave Power http: //www. pelamiswave. com/galleryimages. php
Explanations for outcomes Ross (1997) Watt (1998) Winskel (2007)
Conventional industry • Industrial based design • Maximised economic return • Patent based knowledge protection
1990 German Solar p. v. 1975 Danish Wind power 2008 UK Wave power 2008 UK Tidal stream power Physical terrain Land sea Degree of popular access for deployment Status of existing model Very high Negligible Existing prototype No pre-existing model Partially preexisting model Social/political landscape High support Electricity industry support Low support Technological frame High science Popular/craft Moderate/high Recent moderate support (formerly low support) High science initially Intermediate Technology
Implications for policy • R&D support for in-situ machines • Regime access with initial generous support • Start small, evolve bigger (Schumpeter) • ‘Bottom up’/non-regime actors are very important
Implications for theory • EM involves social movements in developing technology (van der Poel) • Idealism as a institution • Importance of users as generators • EM has stages of development
Renewable as mainstream • ‘We need to bring about a revolution in the way energy is produced …. . Imagine you are pin-striped revolutionaries in the spirit of Che Guevara on the Sierra Madre’ • Mike O’Brien, Minister for Energy 29/03/09
- Slides: 20