Regional energy security
Case study of path dependence and adoption readiness in the Southeastern United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21450042 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marie-Annette Brown (0000-0003-3245-7948), Marilyn Brown (0000-0002-8116-9072, Georgia Institute of Technology, corresponding author), Niraj K Palsule (0009-0000-0833-322X), Niraj Palsule (Georgia Institute of Technology), Peter Thornton (0000-0002-4759-5158, Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Peter E Thornton, David Mccollum (0000-0001-8716-6852, Oak Ridge National Laboratory), David L McCollum (0000-0003-1293-0179, Oak Ridge National Laboratory) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 190 |
| Pages | 103948 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Applied Geography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0143-6228 • E-ISSN: 1873-7730 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.apgeog.2026.103948 |
| OpenAlex | W7134855204 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 51 |
Regions of the United States (U.S.) are challenged by an array of energy security risks. Complementary constructs of path dependence and adoption readiness, combined with rich data analytics are deployed to investigate four energy conundrums emerging from a participatory planning initiative in the U.S. Southeast (SE). The theory of path dependence explains (1) how low electricity rates and high reserve margins have made the SE an attractive target for industrial and data center investments that now stresses energy accessibility and (2) how high energy burdens have resulted from long-lived inefficient housing built when regional energy prices were low and poverty was high, creating high and often unaffordable energy bills. The concept of adoption readiness explains (3) how the region's relatively weak energy security policies have resulted in low levels of adoption of clean-tech products and (4) how its limited experience with unconventional market mechanisms has contributed to its low level of adoption of forest carbon offsets. We offer policy recommendations that could strengthen energy security in the SE by reducing historic path dependencies and fostering adoption readiness. Recommended policies include strengthening the SE electricity market, creating clean portfolio standards and zero-emission vehicle mandates, and expanding carbon offset markets to include equity-qualified energy-efficient housing. The result is arguably the first participatory, data-driven, model-informed energy security analysis of a multi-state U.S. region. • Multiple dimensions of regional energy security. • Energy conundrums amidst unprecedented electricity load growth. • Complementary concepts of path dependence and adoption readiness. • High energy burdens and lack of adoption readiness are persistent in the Southeast. • Regional collaboration can weaken path dependency and strengthen adoption readiness
Analytics · Electricity · Energy (signal processing) · Energy policy · Energy poverty · Energy security · Path dependence · Portfolio · Renewable energy · Global Energy Security and Policy · Integrated Energy Systems Optimization · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
Peer influence on household energy behaviours
A framework for evaluating geographic disparities in energy transition vulnerability
High energy burden and low-income energy affordability
The concept of energy security
Essay
Beyond Markets and States
Understanding carbon lock-in
Driving uneven development
Global disparities in renewable energy development
Lower cost and more feasible options to restore forest cover in the contiguous United States for climate mitigation
Change in US state-level public opinion about climate change
Measuring and modeling energy resilience
Unlocking “lock-in” and path dependency
Locked in transition? Towards a conceptualization of path-dependence lock-ins in the renewable energy landscape
The acceleration of low-carbon transitions
Knowledge is power? Information, partisan cleavages, and support for energy infrastructure
Explaining interest in adopting residential solar photovoltaic systems in the United States
Path dependence and regional economic evolution
Exploring propositions about perceptions of energy security
Obstacles to participation in carbon sequestration for nonindustrial private forest landowners in the southern United States
Maladaptation
Do Pilot and Demonstration Projects Work? Evidence from a Green Building Program
Domestic pollution havens
The Role of Pilot Projects in Urban Climate Change Policy Innovation
Path dependence and path break-out in the electricity sector
Path dependence in historical sociology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |