Collaborative Research: Emerging Engagements of Energy Democracy

2017年9月20日，飓风玛丽亚登陆美国领土波多黎各。五级飓风切断了岛上老化的化石燃料电网，并暴露了波多黎各能源系统在持续的经济危机、能源转型、自然灾害和气候变化背景下的缺陷。因此，波多黎各正处于能源的十字路口：是继续依赖进口化石燃料，还是向太阳能等可再生能源过渡。本项目的目标是分析波多黎各的灾后能源转型，作为了解人们沟通能源民主的方式的案例研究。能源民主既是一种社会运动，旨在使能源技术决策尽可能民主。该项目收集的数据来自波多黎各的实地考察，与参与波多黎各能源决策的利益相关者的访谈和焦点小组，以及报道和影响能源转型和民主沟通的波多黎各媒体来源（电视，广播和印刷品）。分析不同人群如何沟通和证明波多黎各未来能源系统的竞争愿景将有助于理解当前和未来的能源转型中的气候变化，自然灾害和其他危机事件的争议。该项目的研究结果将有助于在各种情况下制定更加民主和公正的能源决策。使用定性的实地调查和新闻媒体分析方法，本研究将回答研究问题：什么是利益相关者（行业，公民，政府官员，活动家，监管机构和科学家）在波多黎各描述和证明能源转型民主的沟通形式？该项目将有助于新兴领域的科学，技术和社会（STS）的能源民主研究。由Co-PI开发的正义-参与-权力-技术（JPPT）框架解释了能源民主如何依赖于这四个要素在每个特定背景下的交叉点。本研究测试的情况下，波多黎各的灾后能源转型的JPPT框架的适用性。此外，该项目支持研究人员正在进行的努力，研究能源转型如何与民主有关;波多黎各不断发展的能源系统;以及社会，政治和文化对能源技术实施的影响。研究结果可以应用到其他能源技术的争议与利益相关者在类似的地缘政治背景下设计的能源系统是民主的，文化上合适的，公平的。通过与波多黎各的能源民主实践者合作，该项目包括举办社区研讨会，为基层能源组织开展研究，并为促进能源民主制定研究知情的最佳实践。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall on the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. The category five hurricane disconnected the island’s aging fossil fuel-based electricity grid and uncovered the shortcomings of Puerto Rico’s energy system in the context of ongoing economic crisis, energy transition, natural disasters, and climate change. As a result, Puerto Rico is at an energy crossroads: continue with status quo reliance on imported fossil fuels or make a transition to renewable energies, such as solar. The goal of this project is to analyze the post-disaster energy transition in Puerto Rico as a case study for understanding the ways people communicate about energy democracy. Energy democracy is both a social movement that seeks to make decisions about energy technology as democratic as possible. This project collects data from fieldwork in Puerto Rico, interviews and focus groups with stakeholders involved in energy decision-making in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rican media sources (TV, radio, and print) that report on and influence communication about energy transition and democracy. Analysis of how different groups of people communicate about and justify competing visions for Puerto Rico’s future energy system will contribute to understanding current and future controversies over energy transition in the midst of the climate change, natural disasters, and other crisis events. The project’s findings will contribute to developing more democratic and just energy decision-making in a range of contexts. Using qualitative fieldwork and news media analysis methods, this research will answer the research question: What are the forms of communication used by stakeholders (industry, citizens, government officials, activists, regulatory bodies, and scientists) in Puerto Rico to describe and justify energy transition in relation to democracy? This project will contribute to the emerging area of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) research on energy democracy. The Justice-Participation-Power-Technology (JPPT) framework developed by the Co-PIs explains how energy democracy relies on the intersections of these four elements in each particular context. This research tests the JPPT framework’s applicability in the case of Puerto Rico’s post-disaster energy transition. Furthermore, the project supports ongoing efforts by researchers to study how energy transitions relate to democracy; Puerto Rico’s evolving energy system; and the social, political, and cultural influences on implementation of energy technologies. Findings can be applied to other energy technology controversies with stakeholders in similar geopolitical contexts towards designing energy systems that are democratic, culturally appropriate, and equitable. Through collaboration with energy democracy practitioners in Puerto Rico, the project includes hosting community workshops, conducting research for grassroots energy organizations, and developing research-informed best practices for promoting energy democracy.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.