ABSTRACT

Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem offers an innovative approach to equip interdisciplinary research on sociotechnical transitions with coherence and focus. The book emphasizes sociotechnical problems in three analytical dimensions:

- In the control dimension, contributing authors examine how control can be maintained despite increasing complexity and uncertainty, e.g., in power grid operations or on energy markets;

- In the change dimension, the authors explore if and how change is possible despite the need for stable orientation, e.g., regarding discourses, real-world labs and learning;

- Finally, in the action dimension, the authors analyze how the ability to act on a permanent basis is sustained despite opaqueness and ignorance, exemplified by the work on trust, capabilities or individual motives.

Drawing on contributions from engineering, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology, the book assembles a range of classic and current themes including innovation, resilience, institutional economics, design or education. Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem presents the ongoing transformation of the energy complex as a multidimensional process, in which the analytical dimensions interact with each other in shaping the energy future. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy science and environmental social science more generally, as well as to practitioners working within the field of energy policy.

chapter 1|13 pages

Introduction

part II|54 pages

Sociotechnical problem of change

chapter 7|22 pages

Learning and disruptive innovation in energy transitions

Who causes which constraints in the German electricity transition?

chapter 8|16 pages

Energy system transformation and inertia in the UK

A discourse-institutional perspective

part III|66 pages

Sociotechnical problem of action

chapter 9|21 pages

The energy system and trust

Public, organizational, and transsystemic perspectives

chapter 10|21 pages

Shaping our energy future

The irreducible entanglement of the ethical, social, and technical realms

chapter 11|22 pages

Technology and motives

The challenge of energy consumption behavior

part |34 pages

Addendum

chapter 12|17 pages

Observing amplified sociotechnical complexity

Challenges for technology assessment regarding energy transitions

chapter 13|15 pages

Energy as a sociotechnical problem

A concluding discussion