Doctoral Dissertation Research in DRMS: A Case Study of Enhanced Geothermal Systems: The Interaction of Imaginaries of Place and Energy for Renewable Energy Transitions

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。缓解气候变化影响的战略包括开发用于供暖和发电的低碳能源，但过渡到可再生能源系统需要了解影响能源项目成功的社会和文化因素。这项研究旨在了解人们对一种名为增强型地热系统(EGS)的新兴可再生能源技术的反应，并确定导致人们支持或反对EGS项目的主要因素。研究人员分析了四个EGS项目，重点关注与风险和收益、公众参与、未来愿景、过去经验和当地历史有关的概念，以便更好地理解对可再生能源发展的反应不仅受到所涉及的技术和机构的影响，而且还受到项目发生的背景的影响。这项研究旨在通过加强对可再生能源接受的驱动因素的理解，并在风险沟通和有效公众参与方面提供循证指导，为应对气候变化提供有价值的见解。在EGS发展的国际案例研究中，我们的目标是了解导致支持或反对的一般性因素，与能源未来的地点和愿景相关的特定背景因素，以及沟通和利益相关者参与的作用。该项目包括对处于不同发展阶段的EGS站点的多个案例进行比较：1.纽约州伊萨卡；2.芬兰埃斯波；3.英国雷德鲁斯；4.瑞士巴塞尔，2006年地震活动加剧后，那里的一个EGS项目被取消。数据收集方法包括与关键利益攸关方的访谈，对媒体报道、公关材料和政策文件的文本分析，以及对会议和事件的观察。其目的是了解每个项目是如何随着时间的推移而展开的；能源和地震的社会技术想象、地点和遗产等概念如何出现在围绕EGS及其风险的可接受性的公开谈判中；以及这些因素如何影响公众的态度和随后的项目结果。虽然许多研究都集中在公众对特定能源项目或技术的反应上，但本研究通过考虑地点和能源想象在多个尺度上的作用，扩展了关于能源接受的文献，因为它们在给定能源项目的当地背景下相互作用。以前的研究使用社会技术想象--对令人向往的未来和技术期望作用的集体持有的愿景--来理解区域和国家层面的能源发展轨迹，越来越多的文献探索了地点依恋对地方接受能源项目的差异的影响。然而，这些潜在的相互竞争的能源和地点愿景之间的相互作用以及对可再生能源接受的影响尚未得到调查；这项研究通过增进对可再生能源接受的驱动因素的理解，并就风险沟通和有效的公共参与提供经验性的指导，为应对气候变化提供了洞察力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change include developing low-carbon energy sources for heating and power, but transitioning to renewable energy systems requires understanding the social and cultural factors that affect whether energy projects are successful. This study aims to understand how people react to an emerging form of renewable energy technology called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), and to identify the main factors that lead to people supporting or opposing EGS projects. The researcher analyzes four EGS projects, focusing on concepts related to risks and benefits, public engagement, visions of the future, past experiences, and local histories, in order to better understand how responses to renewable energy development are influenced not only by the technology and institutions involved but also by the context that the project takes place in. This research aims to provide valuable insight for addressing climate change, through enhancing understanding of drivers of renewable energy acceptance and providing evidence-based guidance on risk communication and effective public engagement. In an international case study of EGS developments, we aim to understand generalizable factors that lead to support or opposition, context-specific factors related to place and visions of energy futures, and the role of communication and stakeholder engagement. The project consists of a comparison between multiple cases of EGS sites at various stages of development: 1. Ithaca, NY; 2. Espoo, Finland; 3. Redruth, England; and 4. Basel, Switzerland, where an EGS project was canceled following increased seismicity in 2006. Data collection methods include interviews with key stakeholders, textual analysis of media coverage, public relations materials, and policy documents, and observation of meetings and events. The aim is to understand how each project has unfolded over time; how such concepts as sociotechnical imaginaries, place, and legacies of energy and earthquakes are present in public negotiations around the acceptability of EGS and its risks; and how these factors have influenced public attitudes and subsequent project outcomes. While much research has focused on public responses to a particular energy project or technology, this research extends the literature on energy acceptance by considering the role of both place and energy imaginaries, at multiple scales, as they interact within a local context for a given energy project. Previous research has used socio-technical imaginaries – collectively-held visions of desirable futures and the desired role of technology – to understand trajectories of energy development at regional and national levels, and a growing body of literature has explored the influence of place attachment on local differences in acceptance of energy projects. However, interactions between these potentially competing visions of energy and place and the implications for acceptance of renewable energy have not been investigated; this research provides insight for addressing climate change, through enhancing understanding of drivers of renewable energy acceptance and providing empirically informed guidance on risk communication and effective public engagement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.