| 1. |
- Ellegård, Kajsa, et al.
(författare)
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Who Is Behaving? Consequences for Energy Policy of Concept Confusion
- 2015
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 8:8, s. 7618-7637
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Policies to reduce household energy use usually target the individual customer. This is probably one explanation to the limited effect of many information policies, because two concepts with different meanings are confused: individual and household. In most contexts, an individual stands for what s/he does, but in the policy context, an individual is taken to represent the entire household. This is not problematic for a single-person household, but, in a multi-person household, activities performed by different household members influence the whole households energy use. This paper illuminates problems arising from confusing the concepts of household and individual when developing policies to reduce household energy use. Examples relate to indoor space heating and energy-intensive home-based activities. The results indicate that it is analytically simple to consider individuals at home, as well as their activities using electrical appliances contributing to heating, but much more complicated to take the whole household into consideration. Our model provides a basis for better-targeted information actions to reduce energy use. Also, empirically based models capturing variations between households with different activity patterns are important for developing policies resulting in reduced energy use for space heating in multi-person households.
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| 2. |
- Palm, Jenny, et al.
(författare)
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Achieving the Circular Economy: Exploring the Role of Local Governments, Business and Citizens in an Urban Context
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urbanisation and climate change are urging cities to find novel pathways leading to a sustainable future. The urban context may be viewed as a new experimentation space to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Urban symbiosis and circular economy are emerging concepts attracting more and more attention within the urban context. Moreover, new business models are emerging around sharing and peer-to-peer practices, which are challenging existing roles of actors in society. These developments have an important impact on the flows of resources and use of the city infrastructure, and each research area has taken a different perspective on the analysis of such impacts. This special issue aims to explore what a “circular city” could constitute and how and why cities engage in circularity. The special issue includes seven high-quality papers on theories and practices on circular cities. Actors, concepts, methods, tools, barriers to and enablers of circular cities are discussed and provide a solid base and inspiration for future developments of circular cities.
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| 3. |
- Palm, Jenny
(författare)
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Knowledge about the final disposal of nuclear fuel in Sweden : Surveys to members of parliament and citizens
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 13:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2011, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) applied for a permit to construct a disposal facility. The Swedish government is expected to make a decision in 2020. Three surveys have been conducted to investigate how informed the Swedish Members of Parliament (MP) and the citizens are in these issues. The first study with the MPs was done in 2013, the second in 2016 and the one with the citizens was conducted in the winter of 2018/2019. The results show that most MPs and half of the citizens were aware of the ongoing permission process. Rather surprisingly, there were more politicians and citizens who knew about the suggestions to use copper canisters, than knew the suggested location. In general, nuclear waste was seen as an important issue by all respondents. A majority of the MPs and the citizens believed that Sweden can dispose the waste in a safe manner. Among the citizens, the trust in politicians’ decisions on where and how to build a final repository were low and more trust was put into scientists and experts. Half of the citizens wanted to see a phase out of nuclear power, over half of the MPs meant that the repository should be designed so that the withdrawal of nuclear waste can be done.
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| 4. |
- Palm, Jenny, et al.
(författare)
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The role of cities in the sharing economy : Exploring modes of governance in urban sharing practices
- 2019
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 12:24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cities have for a long time been key actors in sustainable urban development, and in recent times, also for the sharing economy, as they provide a fertile breeding ground for various sharing initiatives. While some of these initiatives build on existing practices and infrastructures such as public libraries and repair workshops, others require the involvement of private companies, as in the case of car sharing. The sharing economy might therefore require a significant reinterpretation of the role of local governments, businesses and citizens, which in turn might imply a complex re-organisation of governing. This article will explore what potential roles cities might have in governing the sharing economy. Four Swedish cities serve as case studies for this purpose: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Umeå. City data was collected primarily through qualitative means of investigation, including workshops, interviews and desk research. In Malmö, additional participatory observations were conducted on the testbed Sege Park. Results were analysed with a framework developed for understanding the various governing roles for cities in the sharing economy. Three dominant modes of governing were identified and discussed: Governing by provision and authority; governing by partnership and enabling; and governing through volunteering. The four cities made use of all three governing modes, although with a primary focus on governing by authority and governing through partnership. When characterised by governing through volunteering, projects were always initiated by the city, but then run formally by an NGO. While all governing modes may have a role and a purpose in the sharing economy, it is still important that cities reflect upon what are their actual implications. Risks include a collaborative governing mode out-competing some businesses, for example, and a self-governing mode reducing the action space of the volunteer sector.
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| 5. |
- Palm, Jenny
(författare)
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The Transposition of Energy Communities into Swedish Regulations: Overview and Critique of Emerging Regulations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 14:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One organizational innovation introduced by the clean energy for all Europeans package (CEP) is that of the energy community (EC), including the renewable energy community (REC) and citizen energy community (CEC). The translation of related directives into national legislation is underway in Sweden, and the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate (Ei) has proposed a new law on ECs, which has been sent for consultation. This article analyzes the Ei proposal and the responses from the 27 referral bodies commenting on the new EC regulations. Positive aspects of the proposal were that it would be a law on ECs and that it would be easy to start and run an EC. Critics were concerned that the law was too vague, the relationship between existing cooperatives and the new ECs was not clear, both CEC and REC are used instead of only using one term, there is a lack of suggestions on supportive measures for ECs, ECs will have less favorable conditions than other micro-producers of electricity, there is a lack of barrier analysis and visions of a future of ECs, and finally, that the situation for marginalized households was not dealt with in the proposal.
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| 6. |
- Thollander, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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Industrial Energy Management Decision Making for Improved Energy Efficiency : €”Strategic System Perspectives and Situated Action in Combination
- 2015
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 8:6, s. 5694-5703
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Improved industrial energy efficiency is a cornerstone in climate change mitigation. Research results suggest that there is still major untapped potential for improved industrial energy efficiency. The major model used to explain the discrepancy between optimal level of energy efficiency and the current level is the barrier model, e.g., different barriers to energy efficiency inhibit adoption of cost-effective measures. The measures outlined in research and policy action plans are almost exclusively technology-oriented, but great potential for energy efficiency improvements is also found in operational measures. Both technology and operational measures are combined in successful energy management practices. Most research in the field of energy management is grounded in engineering science, and theoretical models on how energy management in industry is carried out are scarce. One way to further develop and improve energy management, both theoretically as well as practically, is to explore how a socio-technical perspective can contribute to this understanding. In this article we will further elaborate this potential of cross-pollinating these fields. The aim of this paper is to relate energy management to two theoretical models, situated action and transaction analysis. We conclude that the current model for energy management systems, the input-output model, is insufficient for understanding in-house industrial energy management practices. By the incorporation of situated action and transaction analysis to the currently used input-output model, an enhanced understanding of the complexity of energy management is gained. It is not possible to find a single energy management solution suitable for any industrial company, but rather the idea is to find a reflexive model that can be adjusted from time to time. An idea for such a reflexive model would contain the structural elements from energy management models with consideration for decisions being situated and impossible to predict.
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