Electrification: Accelerating the Energy Transition - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0128221437 ISBN 13: 9780128221433

Publisher: Academic Press, 2021

Synopsis

Electrification: Accelerating the Energy Transition offers a widely applicable framework to delineate context-sensitive pathways by which this transition can be accelerated and lists the types of processes and structures that may hinder progress towards this goal. The framework draws insights from well-established literature, ranging from technological studies to socio-technical studies of energy transitions, on to strategic niche management approaches, (international) political economy approaches, and institutionalist literatures, while also adopting wider social theoretical ideas from structuration theory. Contributors discuss a multitude of case studies drawn from global examples of electrification projects.

Brief case studies and text boxes help users further understand this domain and the technological, infrastructural and societal structures that may exercise significant powers.

• Proposes a globally applicable, inclusive framework linking together several literatures of energy transition research (ranging from the social sciences to law and engineering)
• Assesses the regional and national applicability of solutions, covering the societal structures and interests that shape the prospects of their implementation
• Extends the analysis from technological and infrastructural solutions to the policies required to accelerate transition
• Introduces several country level case studies, thus demonstrating how to harness niches of innovation, kick-start the adoption of a solution, and make it mainstream

About this title

About the Author

Pami Aalto is Jean Monnet Professor in International Relations at the Tampere University, Finland, and works at the interface of energy policy, international relations and international political economy as well as interdisciplinary studies in general, with particular interest in the Nordic countries, Europe, Russia and East Asia. During 2015-21 he leads EL-TRAN, a large-scale consortium of some 50 researchers working on the transition of the electric energy system to a more climate neutral direction in various engineering disciplines, law, politics and international relations as well as future studies, funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland. Alongside scholarly work, the consortium seeks to engage with the business, public administration and NGO sectors, in order to find solutions applicable to the ongoing energy transition. Since 2015, Aalto is Member of the International Advisory Board of Energy Policy.

From the Back Cover

Often cited as the ‘new oil’, electrification is a recognized pathway to global climate neutrality. Accelerating this process remains a formidable global challenge, requiring close international coordination and collaboration between a wide range of actors in the countries concerned. Such actors need to make several well-informed choices on various part-solutions, and for this end, overcome their group interests, cooperate and successfully ‘play the game’ of transition. To support this considerable effort, Electrification: Accelerating the Transition to Climate Neutrality offers a widely applicable framework to delineate context-sensitive pathways by which this transition can be accelerated and what types of processes and structures may hinder the progress towards this goal. This framework draws insights from well-established literatures, ranging from technological studies to socio-technical studies of energy transitions, on to strategic niche management approaches, (international) political economy approaches and institutionalist literatures while also adopting wider social theoretical ideas from structuration theory. Contributors discuss a multitude of case studies drawn from global examples of electrification projects using a similar structure. They survey the available literature to offer the ‘big picture’ in their given domain, then introduce brief case studies and text boxes concretizing how to further transition in that domain and within a given geographical context mindful of the possible technological, infrastructural and societal structures that may exercise significant powers vis-à-vis the prospects of transition; followed by lessons learned for the creation of new paths and the policies likely to help with that goal. Towards the end of the book, contributors offer insight into modelling methodologies on how to pull the various solutions together.

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0128221437
• ISBN 13: 9780128221433
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Aalto Pami