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Community energy

Entanglements of community, state, and private sector

Bibliographic Data

ID7784869
AuthorsEmily Creamer (0000-0001-6096-3114, University of Edinburgh, corresponding author), Will Eadson (0000-0002-2158-7205, Sheffield Hallam University), Bregje Van Veelen (0000-0003-1467-8325, Durham University), Annabel Pinker (0000-0002-6516-5573, James Hutton Institute), Margaret Tingey (0000-0001-7668-4208, University of Edinburgh), Tim Braunholtz‐speight (0000-0002-6115-0331, University of Manchester), Marianna Markantoni (0000-0003-1531-4232, Scotland's Rural College), Mike Foden (0000-0002-0218-6078, Keele University), Max Lacey‐barnacle (0000-0002-5267-9735, Welsh Government)
Year2018
Volume12
Issue7
Publication date2018-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeography Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8198 • E-ISSN: 1749-8198
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/gec3.12378
OpenAlexW2803120741
LanguageEN
Citations received88
References cited98

The decarbonisation of energy systems is leading to a reconfiguration of the geographies of energy. One example is the emergence of community energy, which has become a popular object of study for geographers. Although widely acknowledged to be a contested, capacious, and flexible term, “community energy” is commonly presented as singular, bounded, and localised. In this paper, we challenge this conception of community energy by considering evidence about the role and influence of three categories of actors: community, state, and private sector. We demonstrate how community energy projects are unavoidably entangled with a diversity of actors and institutions operating at and across multiple scales. We therefore argue that community energy is enabled and constituted by trans‐scalar assemblages of overlapping actors, which demands multi‐sectoral participation and coordination. We point to the need for further academic attention on the boundaries between these actors to better understand the role of different intermediary practices and relationships in facilitating the development of decentralised energy systems with just outcomes

Control reconfiguration · Economic system · Economics · Energy Sector · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · Energy and Environment Impacts · Engineering · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance

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Unique citing works88
Citations per year11
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 84
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