Will power be local? The role of local power organizations in energy transition acceleration

Ryan Thomas Trahan and David J. Hess

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, vol. 183, issue C

Abstract: A salient problem faced by governments and industry alike is how to accelerate energy transitions to enhance affordability, accessibility, and greenhouse-gas reduction. Bringing together acceleration processes and spatial scale dynamics, this study highlights the potential for electricity distribution to play a keystone role in the energy transition. We present and examine survey data of electricity distribution utilities in a region of the U.S. to show how trends in decentralization and digitization are intertwined with decarbonization. These trends rebalance economic value toward distribution networks and away from centralized infrastructure. The survey data show that electricity distribution organizations are deploying local, renewable generation projects that produce electricity for one-third (1/3) less than the cost from a centralized generation-and-transmission entity. We suggest that this change and others are likely to transform distribution operators into more broad-based local power organizations. Although the cost advantage of distributed generation seemingly marks a future of local control and decentralized organizational forms, spatial scale dynamics indicate countervailing centralization trends, including that distribution networks may evolve to dependency on external digital, engineering, and capital providers. The outcome of the resulting conflicts will affect the potential for transition acceleration to be enabled or reduced.

Keywords: Energy transition; Empirical survey; Local power organizations; Spatial dynamics; Public power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:183:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522004073

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121884

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