Presentation
To initiate the discussion, we asked Lorenzo Kristov, an innovative thinker at the heart of California’s energy sector to share his perspectives. He argued strongly against adopting new technologies without a clear vision of what kind of energy system he want, but also comes out in favour of a decentralised distributed model that he sees as most favourable to a democratic vision.
Webinar
The webinar featured contributions from:
Carol Olson, Researcher in solar energy at the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands. Alongside technical research, her work has increasing been involved with the social and economic aspects of the renewable versus fossil fuel energy supply system.
Julia Fernandes, Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (Movement of People Affected by Dams) based in Brazil.
Further reading
Beyond Utility 2.0 to Energy Democracy, (Institute for Local Self-Reliance) https://ilsr.org/report-energy-democracy/ – Useful report (from a US perspective) on how technological changes can facilitate moves towards democratising our energy system.
Vaclav Smil: “The great hope for a quick and sweeping transition to renewable energy is wishful thinking” https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/vaclav-smil-e2809cthe-great-hope-for-a-quick-and-sweeping-transition-to-renewable-energy-is-wishful-thinkinge2809d/ See also: Smil, Renewabel Energies: Resources, conversions and constraints (PDF) recommended by Jordan Kinder https://www.dropbox.com/s/3h2lad2rum9c3d9/Smil%20Renewable%20Energies.pdf?dl=0
Prof Da Silva, The four barriers to diffusion of solar energy technologies in Africa (Africa Policy Review) http://africapolicyreview.com/analysis/four-barriers-diffusion-solar-energy-technologies-africa-trends-kenya/
Microgrid media – a website aggregating stories on microgrids, i.e. small scale electricity grids that don’t depend on large electricity distribution networks http://microgridmedia.com
“How the Smart Grid is Key to a Sustainable Energy Future” https://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/04/12/how-smart-grid-key-sustainable-energy-future
Do smart grids and smart meters give control to corporations? http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/from-smart-grid-to-big-brother.html
http://www.informationweek.com/it-leadership/big-brother-looking-to-control-your-smart-grid/d/d-id/1083989
Current challenges in energy storage technologies – an overview http://reneweconomy.com.au/the-long-term-storage-challenge-batteries-not-included-73186/
A nation-sized battery – http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/08/nation-sized-battery/ -blogpost on limitations of energy storage
Previous sessions of the Democratising Energy Peer Learning Course:
- Session 1: Decolonising Energy
- Session 2: Community and Cooperative control
- Session 3: State control – National and municipal
- Session 4: Labour and trade unions in the energy transition
- Session 5: Energy poverty and access