How Local Energy Initiatives Develop Technological Innovations: Growing an Actor Network
Local energy initiatives are of growing interest to studies of grassroots innovation for sustainability. Some of these initiatives have developed novel technological solutions to fulfil local demand for renewable energy. However, whereas the upscaling and diffusion of grassroots innovations has been...
Gespeichert in:
| Veröffentlicht in: | Sustainability Jg. 10; H. 12; S. 4577 |
|---|---|
| Hauptverfasser: | , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
04.12.2018
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| ISSN: | 2071-1050, 2071-1050 |
| Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
| Abstract | Local energy initiatives are of growing interest to studies of grassroots innovation for sustainability. Some of these initiatives have developed novel technological solutions to fulfil local demand for renewable energy. However, whereas the upscaling and diffusion of grassroots innovations has been extensively discussed in the literature, their emergence has received very little attention so far. We will therefore focus on how energy initiatives can develop technological innovations by bringing together local actors and creating a fit to local circumstances. Grounded in actor network theory (ANT) and structured by concepts from Callon’s sociology of translation, we studied two technologically innovative projects of a Dutch energy initiative. Through document analysis and interviews, we researched how these initiatives developed their innovations by forming networks of social, material, and discursive elements. We found that the outcomes of the innovation processes are very dependent on the networking capacities of the energy initiatives, as well as how well they fit with external circumstances and opportunities. The paper concludes with five lessons for grassroots technological innovation: form links with the local, extensively scrutinize plans, create tangible proof of alignments, position the project as beneficial to as many actors as possible, and adjust the level of ambition to the strength of the actor network. |
|---|---|
| AbstractList | Local energy initiatives are of growing interest to studies of grassroots innovation for sustainability. Some of these initiatives have developed novel technological solutions to fulfil local demand for renewable energy. However, whereas the upscaling and diffusion of grassroots innovations has been extensively discussed in the literature, their emergence has received very little attention so far. We will therefore focus on how energy initiatives can develop technological innovations by bringing together local actors and creating a fit to local circumstances. Grounded in actor network theory (ANT) and structured by concepts from Callon’s sociology of translation, we studied two technologically innovative projects of a Dutch energy initiative. Through document analysis and interviews, we researched how these initiatives developed their innovations by forming networks of social, material, and discursive elements. We found that the outcomes of the innovation processes are very dependent on the networking capacities of the energy initiatives, as well as how well they fit with external circumstances and opportunities. The paper concludes with five lessons for grassroots technological innovation: form links with the local, extensively scrutinize plans, create tangible proof of alignments, position the project as beneficial to as many actors as possible, and adjust the level of ambition to the strength of the actor network. |
| Author | Van Oost, Ellen C. J. Van der Waal, Esther C. Van der Windt, Henny J. |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 givenname: Esther C. orcidid: 0000-0002-3560-4272 surname: Van der Waal fullname: Van der Waal, Esther C. – sequence: 2 givenname: Henny J. orcidid: 0000-0003-0472-5773 surname: Van der Windt fullname: Van der Windt, Henny J. – sequence: 3 givenname: Ellen C. J. surname: Van Oost fullname: Van Oost, Ellen C. J. |
| BookMark | eNptkE1PAjEQhhuDiYhc_AU9GpPVfi27640gAgnRCybeNt0yi9Wlxbaw4d9bxERjnMvM4ZnJPO856hhrAKFLSm44L8it31JCmUiz7AR1GcloQklKOr_mM9T3_o3E4pwWdNBFL1Pb4rlVssFjA261xzOjg5ZB78Dje9hBYzd4AerV2Mau9AGcGWN3kbDG3-GJs602KywNHqpgHX6E0Fr3foFOa9l46H_3Hnp-GC9G02T-NJmNhvNEcUJCkispZVHXNSMcoM7jW6lSUogsTyuIVjRLK1rUgi6XBacs4wKYYJBXVBY8r3gPXR3vbpz92IIP5Vp7BU0jDditLxnPRFQlgzyi10dUOeu9g7rcOL2Wbl9SUh4SLH8SjDD5AysdvqSDk7r5b-UTUTV0-w |
| CitedBy_id | crossref_primary_10_3390_en18112823 crossref_primary_10_3390_en13020458 crossref_primary_10_3390_su122310096 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_rser_2023_113185 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_erss_2023_103061 crossref_primary_10_1080_09654313_2022_2132782 crossref_primary_10_3390_en13112955 crossref_primary_10_3390_su12187629 crossref_primary_10_3390_su122410431 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_rser_2022_112479 crossref_primary_10_3390_su12218767 crossref_primary_10_3390_su14137839 crossref_primary_10_3390_su11113230 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_enpol_2025_114792 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_erss_2024_103732 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_erss_2023_103166 crossref_primary_10_3390_land14030603 crossref_primary_10_1080_19420676_2023_2297667 crossref_primary_10_3390_su13042294 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_eist_2020_01_006 crossref_primary_10_3390_su11010141 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_renene_2023_04_094 crossref_primary_10_1016_j_erss_2022_102643 |
| Cites_doi | 10.3390/su9071207 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.12.007 10.1080/09537320802292651 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.02.008 10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.12.010 10.1016/j.eist.2014.04.004 10.1016/j.eist.2016.05.002 10.11565/cuocient.v1i2.5 10.3390/su10020366 10.1038/nenergy.2016.54 10.1177/0306312713511867 10.1016/j.techfore.2008.04.002 10.1080/09644010701419121 10.2307/800623 10.1177/0308518X15597908 10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.023 10.1002/gch2.1012 10.1016/j.eist.2015.09.001 10.1186/s40604-016-0035-8 10.1111/j.1467-954X.1984.tb00113.x 10.1111/radm.12309 10.1080/2157930X.2014.921354 10.1186/2192-0567-4-11 10.1111/1475-4762.00071 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.03.017 10.3390/su9010075 10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.019 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.02.008 10.1002/hfm.4530030104 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.163 10.22381/JSME6120183 10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00100-2 10.3390/su7021900 10.1016/j.enpol.2004.08.037 10.1016/j.futures.2015.01.002 |
| ContentType | Journal Article |
| DBID | AAYXX CITATION 7S9 L.6 |
| DOI | 10.3390/su10124577 |
| DatabaseName | CrossRef AGRICOLA AGRICOLA - Academic |
| DatabaseTitle | CrossRef AGRICOLA AGRICOLA - Academic |
| DatabaseTitleList | AGRICOLA CrossRef |
| DeliveryMethod | fulltext_linktorsrc |
| Discipline | Economics Environmental Sciences |
| EISSN | 2071-1050 |
| ExternalDocumentID | 10_3390_su10124577 |
| GroupedDBID | 29Q 2WC 4P2 5VS 7XC 8FE 8FH A8Z AAHBH AAYXX ACHQT ADBBV ADMLS AENEX AFFHD AFKRA AFMMW ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS BCNDV BENPR CCPQU CITATION E3Z ECGQY ESTFP FRS GX1 KQ8 ML. MODMG M~E OK1 P2P PHGZM PHGZT PIMPY PROAC TR2 7S9 L.6 PUEGO |
| ID | FETCH-LOGICAL-c300t-8caaa9fff203eef83195cca44785be390175b19f41dd9312734e242e8b1a938b3 |
| ISICitedReferencesCount | 24 |
| ISICitedReferencesURI | http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000455338100243&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| ISSN | 2071-1050 |
| IngestDate | Thu Oct 02 12:06:33 EDT 2025 Tue Nov 18 22:24:16 EST 2025 Sat Nov 29 07:09:42 EST 2025 |
| IsDoiOpenAccess | false |
| IsOpenAccess | true |
| IsPeerReviewed | true |
| IsScholarly | true |
| Issue | 12 |
| Language | English |
| LinkModel | OpenURL |
| MergedId | FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c300t-8caaa9fff203eef83195cca44785be390175b19f41dd9312734e242e8b1a938b3 |
| Notes | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3560-4272 0000-0003-0472-5773 |
| OpenAccessLink | https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/12/4577/pdf?version=1543912126 |
| PQID | 2374191068 |
| PQPubID | 24069 |
| ParticipantIDs | proquest_miscellaneous_2374191068 crossref_primary_10_3390_su10124577 crossref_citationtrail_10_3390_su10124577 |
| PublicationCentury | 2000 |
| PublicationDate | 2018-12-04 |
| PublicationDateYYYYMMDD | 2018-12-04 |
| PublicationDate_xml | – month: 12 year: 2018 text: 2018-12-04 day: 04 |
| PublicationDecade | 2010 |
| PublicationTitle | Sustainability |
| PublicationYear | 2018 |
| References | Brink (ref_41) 2016; 3 Peine (ref_28) 2009; 76 Koirala (ref_10) 2018; 231 Smith (ref_19) 2010; 39 ref_14 ref_12 ref_34 Garud (ref_6) 2003; 32 ref_33 ref_32 ref_31 ref_30 Warren (ref_35) 2010; 27 Ornetzeder (ref_1) 2013; 23 Smith (ref_3) 2018; 6 Zuidema (ref_45) 2018; 117 Hoppe (ref_37) 2015; 7 Schot (ref_15) 2008; 20 Seyfang (ref_2) 2007; 16 Fressoli (ref_39) 2014; 4 Law (ref_22) 1988; 35 Martiskainen (ref_11) 2017; 22 Vasileiadou (ref_18) 2015; 66 McAdam (ref_40) 2018; 48 ref_23 Hargreaves (ref_16) 2013; 23 ref_44 ref_21 ref_20 Musall (ref_36) 2011; 39 Davies (ref_24) 2002; 342 Kooij (ref_42) 2018; 37 Ornetzeder (ref_5) 2006; 34 Seyfang (ref_17) 2014; 13 Numminen (ref_38) 2017; 1 ref_29 Oteman (ref_43) 2014; 4 ref_26 Boon (ref_13) 2016; 19 Hilmi (ref_4) 2012; 1 Schot (ref_8) 2016; 1 Smith (ref_9) 2015; 48 ref_7 Fleck (ref_27) 1993; 3 Sayes (ref_25) 2014; 44 |
| References_xml | – ident: ref_7 doi: 10.3390/su9071207 – volume: 23 start-page: 856 year: 2013 ident: ref_1 article-title: Of solar collectors, wind power, and car sharing: Comparing and understanding successful cases of grassroots innovations publication-title: Glob. Environ. Chang. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.12.007 – ident: ref_30 – volume: 20 start-page: 537 year: 2008 ident: ref_15 article-title: Strategic niche management and sustainable innovation journeys: Theory, findings, research agenda, and policy publication-title: Technol. Anal. Strat. Manag. doi: 10.1080/09537320802292651 – ident: ref_32 – ident: ref_26 – ident: ref_34 – volume: 117 start-page: 142 year: 2018 ident: ref_45 article-title: The adaptation of Dutch energy policy to emerging area-based energy practices publication-title: Energy Policy doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.02.008 – volume: 27 start-page: 204 year: 2010 ident: ref_35 article-title: Does community ownership affect public attitudes to wind energy? A case study from south-west Scotland publication-title: Land Use Policy doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.12.010 – volume: 13 start-page: 21 year: 2014 ident: ref_17 article-title: A grassroots sustainable energy niche? Reflections on community energy in the UK publication-title: Environ. Innov. Soc. Transit. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2014.04.004 – volume: 22 start-page: 78 year: 2017 ident: ref_11 article-title: The role of community leadership in the development of grassroots innovations publication-title: Environ. Innov. Soc. Transit. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2016.05.002 – volume: 1 start-page: 1 year: 2012 ident: ref_4 article-title: Grassroots Innovation from the Bottom of the Pyramid publication-title: Curr. Opin. Creat. Innov. Entrep. doi: 10.11565/cuocient.v1i2.5 – ident: ref_12 doi: 10.3390/su10020366 – ident: ref_14 – volume: 1 start-page: 16054 year: 2016 ident: ref_8 article-title: The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems publication-title: Nat. Energy doi: 10.1038/nenergy.2016.54 – volume: 44 start-page: 134 year: 2014 ident: ref_25 article-title: Actor–Network Theory and methodology: Just what does it mean to say that nonhumans have agency? publication-title: Soc. Stud. Sci. doi: 10.1177/0306312713511867 – ident: ref_23 – volume: 76 start-page: 396 year: 2009 ident: ref_28 article-title: Understanding the dynamics of technological configurations: A conceptual framework and the case of Smart Homes publication-title: Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2008.04.002 – volume: 16 start-page: 584 year: 2007 ident: ref_2 article-title: Grassroots innovations for sustainable development: Towards a new research and policy agenda publication-title: Environ. Politics doi: 10.1080/09644010701419121 – volume: 35 start-page: 284 year: 1988 ident: ref_22 article-title: Engineering and Sociology in a Military Aircraft Project: A Network Analysis of Technological Change publication-title: Soc. Probl. doi: 10.2307/800623 – volume: 48 start-page: 407 year: 2015 ident: ref_9 article-title: Making the most of community energies: Three perspectives on grassroots innovation publication-title: Environ. Plan. A doi: 10.1177/0308518X15597908 – volume: 39 start-page: 435 year: 2010 ident: ref_19 article-title: Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: The allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges publication-title: Res. Policy doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.023 – volume: 1 start-page: 9 year: 2017 ident: ref_38 article-title: Frugal energy innovations for developing countries—A framework publication-title: Glob. Chall. doi: 10.1002/gch2.1012 – volume: 19 start-page: 51 year: 2016 ident: ref_13 article-title: User-led innovation in civic energy communities publication-title: Environ. Innov. Soc. Transit. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2015.09.001 – ident: ref_31 – volume: 3 start-page: 4 year: 2016 ident: ref_41 article-title: The triple helix frame for small- and medium-sized enterprises for innovation and development of offshore wind energy publication-title: Triple Helix doi: 10.1186/s40604-016-0035-8 – ident: ref_21 doi: 10.1111/j.1467-954X.1984.tb00113.x – ident: ref_29 – ident: ref_33 – volume: 48 start-page: 3 year: 2018 ident: ref_40 article-title: Beyond ‘triple helix’ toward ‘quadruple helix’ models in regional innovation systems: Implications for theory and practice publication-title: R&D Manag. doi: 10.1111/radm.12309 – volume: 4 start-page: 277 year: 2014 ident: ref_39 article-title: When grassroots innovation movements encounter mainstream institutions: Implications for models of inclusive innovation publication-title: Innov. Dev. doi: 10.1080/2157930X.2014.921354 – volume: 4 start-page: 11 year: 2014 ident: ref_43 article-title: The institutional space of community initiatives for renewable energy: A comparative case study of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark publication-title: Energy Sustain. Soc. doi: 10.1186/2192-0567-4-11 – volume: 342 start-page: 190 year: 2002 ident: ref_24 article-title: Power, politics and networks: Shaping partnerships for sustainable communities publication-title: Area doi: 10.1111/1475-4762.00071 – volume: 39 start-page: 3252 year: 2011 ident: ref_36 article-title: Local acceptance of renewable energy—A case study from southeast Germany publication-title: Energy Policy doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.03.017 – ident: ref_44 doi: 10.3390/su9010075 – volume: 37 start-page: 52 year: 2018 ident: ref_42 article-title: Between grassroots and treetops: Community power and institutional dependence in the renewable energy sector in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands publication-title: Energy Res. Soc. Sci. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2017.09.019 – volume: 23 start-page: 868 year: 2013 ident: ref_16 article-title: Grassroots innovations in community energy: The role of intermediaries in niche development publication-title: Glob. Environ. Chang. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.02.008 – volume: 3 start-page: 15 year: 1993 ident: ref_27 article-title: Configurations: Crystallizing contingency publication-title: Int. J. Hum. Factors Manuf. doi: 10.1002/hfm.4530030104 – volume: 231 start-page: 570 year: 2018 ident: ref_10 article-title: Community energy storage: A responsible innovation towards a sustainable energy system? publication-title: Appl. Energy doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.163 – volume: 6 start-page: 64 year: 2018 ident: ref_3 article-title: Innovation, sustainability and democracy: An analysis of grassroots contributions publication-title: J. Self-Gov. Manag. Econ. doi: 10.22381/JSME6120183 – volume: 32 start-page: 277 year: 2003 ident: ref_6 article-title: Bricolage vs. breakthrough: Distributed and embedded ageny in technology entrepreneurship publication-title: Res. Policy doi: 10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00100-2 – ident: ref_20 – volume: 7 start-page: 1900 year: 2015 ident: ref_37 article-title: Local governments supporting local energy initiatives: Lessons from the best practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands) publication-title: Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su7021900 – volume: 34 start-page: 138 year: 2006 ident: ref_5 article-title: User-led innovations and participation processes: Lessons from sustainable energy technologies publication-title: Energy Policy doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2004.08.037 – volume: 66 start-page: 85 year: 2015 ident: ref_18 article-title: Exploring the transition potential of renewable energy communities publication-title: Futures doi: 10.1016/j.futures.2015.01.002 |
| SSID | ssj0000331916 |
| Score | 2.3129344 |
| Snippet | Local energy initiatives are of growing interest to studies of grassroots innovation for sustainability. Some of these initiatives have developed novel... |
| SourceID | proquest crossref |
| SourceType | Aggregation Database Enrichment Source Index Database |
| StartPage | 4577 |
| SubjectTerms | energy interviews network theory renewable energy sources sociology technology |
| Title | How Local Energy Initiatives Develop Technological Innovations: Growing an Actor Network |
| URI | https://www.proquest.com/docview/2374191068 |
| Volume | 10 |
| WOSCitedRecordID | wos000455338100243&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D |
| hasFullText | 1 |
| inHoldings | 1 |
| isFullTextHit | |
| isPrint | |
| journalDatabaseRights | – providerCode: PRVHPJ databaseName: ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources customDbUrl: eissn: 2071-1050 dateEnd: 99991231 omitProxy: false ssIdentifier: ssj0000331916 issn: 2071-1050 databaseCode: M~E dateStart: 20090101 isFulltext: true titleUrlDefault: https://road.issn.org providerName: ISSN International Centre – providerCode: PRVPQU databaseName: ProQuest Central customDbUrl: eissn: 2071-1050 dateEnd: 99991231 omitProxy: false ssIdentifier: ssj0000331916 issn: 2071-1050 databaseCode: BENPR dateStart: 20090301 isFulltext: true titleUrlDefault: https://www.proquest.com/central providerName: ProQuest – providerCode: PRVPQU databaseName: Publicly Available Content Database customDbUrl: eissn: 2071-1050 dateEnd: 99991231 omitProxy: false ssIdentifier: ssj0000331916 issn: 2071-1050 databaseCode: PIMPY dateStart: 20090301 isFulltext: true titleUrlDefault: http://search.proquest.com/publiccontent providerName: ProQuest |
| link | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwtV3fb9MwELZgQ2IvCAbTxo_JCISEoozEjht7b2PKoKjrKuhEeYqS1JGQkFeWDo0X_vbdOU7SiD6MB16i1nWTyvf1_OVydx8hr4FyK83z3I9FVPhRyWI_Z1z7sBlKmauBHoS5FZuIx2M5m6mJy1WtrJxAbIy8vlaL_2pqGANjY-nsP5i7PSkMwGswOhzB7HC8leFRJG6EO5SX1HV9Q8wPsv29qyZHqIuoWxsNW2lUmyD3AW7N69pF7whj-lgVjPlbq0T2S1N4hbm1bVgei6GwOcXXzOoIeEmF_NI7PvhrApYR1NueMb-9T70JZ64QJUGZF_hy87ELToTSJnpEnQ9jwGDA09e9ZQ_0mrHGCQerYGPrnDvnKrAWw5ZkkXDqL70O2uOz9OR8NEqnyWz6ZvHTR3ExfAjvlFbukk0WC4XO7_RPF4oLOPghK5Lb_rS6kS1e8V13vT516e_clo5MH5IH7j6CHtX2f0TuaLNN7jdl5tU22Um6EkaY6Hx49ZjMACDUAoTWAKErAKEOILQHELoCkEPq4EEzQy08qIPHE3J-kkyPP_pOX8MveBAsfVlkWabKsmQB17qUsAoC_tBRFEuRawyGxSIPVRmF87niITZC0sDotMzDTHGZ8x2yYS6M3iV0AFSQC85KEc8jWE8guYXQYamYjoCGFXvkbbN0aeGaz6MGyo8UbkJxmdNumffIq3buom65snbWy8YCKXhEfMyVGX1xVaWMA0sGFjyQT28x5xnZ6oD7nGwsL6_0C3Kv-LX8Xl3uk833yXjyed8CBt5NhqeTbzfpioY7 |
| linkProvider | ISSN International Centre |
| openUrl | ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=How+Local+Energy+Initiatives+Develop+Technological+Innovations%3A+Growing+an+Actor+Network&rft.jtitle=Sustainability&rft.au=van+der+Waal%2C+Esther+C.&rft.au=van+der+Windt%2C+Henny+J.&rft.au=van+Oost%2C+Ellen+C.+J.&rft.date=2018-12-04&rft.issn=2071-1050&rft.eissn=2071-1050&rft.volume=10&rft.issue=12&rft_id=info:doi/10.3390%2Fsu10124577&rft.externalDBID=NO_FULL_TEXT |
| thumbnail_l | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=2071-1050&client=summon |
| thumbnail_m | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=2071-1050&client=summon |
| thumbnail_s | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=2071-1050&client=summon |