Transition without Conflict? Renewable Energy Initiatives in the Dutch Energy Transition

Antonia Proka, Matthijs Hisschemöller and Derk Loorbach
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Antonia Proka: Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Matthijs Hisschemöller: Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Derk Loorbach: Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: In the context of the slowly progressing energy transition, a number of renewable energy initiatives have been emerging in the Netherlands. These initiatives represent alternatives to the dominant functioning of the energy system, and as such, may come into conflict with it. Transitions involve system destabilisation and conflict between the incumbent regime and the initiatives originating in niches. In order to assess the transformative potential of such initiatives, this paper addresses the question: what kind of conflicts and tensions arise from renewable energy initiatives, and what strategies do they develop to overcome or avoid them? Combined with a business model perspective, transition thinking enabled a better understanding of how the initiatives organise themselves, and where the points of friction with their institutional context emerge. We suggest that the instances of conflict may function as an indication for the state of the energy transition and the transformative potential impact of such initiatives. The instances discussed in this contribution relate to existing support schemes, technology choices, and the overall organisational networks of the emerging sector.

Keywords: energy transition; niche-regime dynamics; business model; conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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