This 36-month full-time, fully-funded PhD studentship aims to advance understanding around socio-technical sustainability transitions, exploring the pathways and processes by which combinations of niches, currently embedded in patchworks of energy system regimes (i.e., within specific localities), can be mainstreamed to unlock low (or zero) carbon, smart local energy systems in a value driven (as opposed to grant driven) environment.
Energy systems around the world are becoming increasingly reliant on decentralised renewable or low carbon generation resources, experiencing new types of loads, and seeing the demand side engage in new ways. Aligned with these changes is a push toward digitalisation and increasing sophistication of automation (e.g., artificial intelligence) used to provide system services. This “smartness” is driving exponential growth in the scale and diversity of data, presenting opportunities and challenges in equal measure.
In recent years there have been a significant number of demonstration projects exploring smarter and more localised systems of energy provision. While these demonstration projects are key to support innovation related to decentralisation and digitalisation, there is a danger that critical learnings will be missed; most projects are focussing on delivering project specific learning, they pay limited attention to the wider societal or policy context, share only positive outcomes (rather than helping others learn from what doesn’t work), and fail to contribute intellectually or theoretically to the broader socio-technical transition that they are helping to deliver. However, this learning is critical to support rapid and widescale roll out – as opposed to more confined replication – of smart local energy systems (SLES).
The proposed PhD project will explore two key issues: (1) how widescale socio-technical transition toward SLES can be enabled by considering co-evolutionary interactions between energy system elements (e.g. technologies, supply chains, infrastructures, firms, markets, user practices, cultural meanings, institutions) in a value driven vs grant drive environment; and (2) the role of different stakeholders in delivering this – how does the potential to capture value align with existing priorities, commitments, capabilities, and governance structures?
Work will include an exploration (and extension) of theoretical frameworks to situate the research within the wider academic literature. Methods will incorporate analysis of secondary data (e.g. via systematic review of the existing literature and of the insights emerging from the demonstration and innovation projects) as well as primary data collection, e.g. via interviews, case studies, and other innovative methods to help explore the values, needs, barriers and opportunities as perceived by different key stakeholders, including Local Authorities.
Findings will contribute to the literature on sustainability transitions, delivering academic novelty in how forward-looking transitions (as opposed to those of the past) are understood, particularly when positioned in terms of aligning combinations of niches to enhance value across a range of priority outcome areas, including economic, social and environmental. Findings will also help inform policy at both the local and national level.
In addition to undertaking cutting edge research, students are registered for the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Development (PGCert), which is a supplementary qualification that develops a student’s skills, networks and career prospects. The student will also be embedded within and will benefit from the interaction with the EnergyREV research consortium (of which Prof McArthur is Principal Investigator and Dr Ford is the Research Director) and its “engine room” of postgraduate researchers and related PhD students.
To be considered for the project, candidates must possess an upper second (2.1) Bachelors or Masters degree in a relevant field, for example, science and technology studies, sociology, social policy, business studies, sustainable development studies, or other subject areas where you can demonstrate the requisite skills. This PhD will involve interdisciplinary research, and therefore we are seeking candidates who are interested to work in this type of environment, and who can articulate why they believe they have the skill set to do this.
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