Conference item
A capability approach to smart local energy systems: aiming for ‘smart and fair’
- Abstract:
-
This paper describes early experience of using a conceptual framework of “capabilities” to understand the propensity of actors (households, businesses, flexibility providers) and communities to participate in and benefit from a Smart Local Energy System (SLES).
Having outlined some basic features of capability theory and examples of its application, we offer a description of the SLES concept, then outline how a ‘capability lens’ can be applied as an analytic tool in designing policies and actions that are sensitive to issues of energy equity. We do this through applying an elaboration of the capability lens developed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy to two smart grid opportunities under consideration in “Project LEO” a major demonstration of prototype SLES mechanisms and market arrangements underway in Oxfordshire, UK: Vehicle-to-Grid charging and domestic Demand Side Response from small scale applications (e.g. heat pumps, smart appliances) connected at the grid edge.
There is a discussion of how capability to adopt these systems has implications for differential access to markets for flexibility and therefore impacts on energy equity. We then argue that a capability lens can be applied not only to individuals, households or organisations, but to communities and systems and considers how inequity might be addressed in terms of actor, community and system capability.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
Actions
Authors
- Publisher:
- European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
- Host title:
- eceee 2021 Summer Study on energy efficiency: a new reality?
- Pages:
- 575-584
- Series:
- eceee Summer Study proceedings
- Publication date:
- 2021-06-07
- Acceptance date:
- 2021-05-10
- Event title:
- eceee 2021 Summer Study on energy efficiency: a new reality?
- Event location:
- Virtual Event
- Event website:
- https://www.eceee.org/events/calendar/event/eceee-2021-digital-summer-study/
- Event start date:
- 2021-06-07
- Event end date:
- 2021-06-11
- EISSN:
-
2001-7960
- ISSN:
-
1653-7025
- EISBN:
- 978-91-983878-9-3
- ISBN:
- 978-91-983878-8-9
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
1207357
- Local pid:
-
pubs:1207357
- Deposit date:
-
2021-11-03
Terms of use
- Copyright date:
- 2021
- Rights statement:
- © eceee and the authors 2021
- Notes:
- This paper was presented at the eceee 2021 Summer Study on energy efficiency: a new reality? 7–11 June 2021. This is the accepted manuscript version of the paper. The final version is available online from eceee at https://www.eceee.org/library/conference_proceedings/eceee_Summer_Studies/2021/
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