ABSTRACT
This emerging literature suggests that the drivers of DE are multiple and diverse, and likely to vary from project to project. However, the research to date has been skewed towards investigating ‘bottom-up’ projects led by community actors. Whilst this has been successful in deepening our understanding of grassroots initiatives, it has overlooked the dynamics of DE projects led by other stakeholders, namely public sector bodies (e.g. local authorities), private companies and third sector organisations (e.g. NGOs). This is an important omission, given that recent research found that only 36% of a total of 182 UK urban energy projects were led by the third sector (conceptualised as both volunteer-led community groups and professional third sector organisations that employ paid staff members), the remainder being public and private sector projects (Turcu & Rydin, 2012). If the potential of a more decentralised pathway is to be fully understood, research needs to move beyond a narrow focus on community-led DE towards a broader spectrum of initiatives emerging in this field.
