Collaborative Research: Emerging Engagements of Energy Democracy

2017年9月20日，飓风玛丽亚在美国领土波多黎各登陆。这场5级飓风切断了该岛老化的化石燃料电网，并在持续的经济危机、能源转型、自然灾害和气候变化的背景下暴露了波多黎各能源系统的缺陷。因此，波多黎各正处于能源的十字路口：继续保持对进口化石燃料的现状依赖，或者过渡到太阳能等可再生能源。该项目的目标是分析波多黎各的灾后能源过渡，作为了解人们交流能源民主的方式的案例研究。能源民主既是一场寻求使能源技术决策尽可能民主的社会运动。该项目收集的数据来自波多黎各的实地考察、对波多黎各参与能源决策的利益相关者的采访和焦点小组，以及报道和影响有关能源过渡和民主的传播的波多黎各媒体来源(电视、广播和印刷)。分析不同群体如何就波多黎各未来能源系统的相互竞争的愿景进行沟通并证明其合理性，将有助于理解当前和未来在气候变化、自然灾害和其他危机事件中关于能源过渡的争议。该项目的发现将有助于在一系列背景下制定更加民主和公正的能源决策。这项研究将采用定性的田野调查和新闻媒体分析方法，回答研究问题：波多黎各的利益相关者(工业界、公民、政府官员、活动家、监管机构和科学家)使用哪些通信形式来描述和证明与民主有关的能源过渡是合理的？该项目将对新兴的科学、技术和社会(STS)领域的能源民主研究做出贡献。共同绩效指标制定的正义-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。这项研究测试了JPPT框架在波多黎各灾后能源过渡中的适用性。此外，该项目支持研究人员正在进行的努力，以研究能源过渡如何与民主有关；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。研究结果可应用于与地缘政治相似的利益攸关方在设计民主、文化上适当和公平的能源系统方面的其他能源技术争议。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了解研究情况的最佳实践。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。

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.