Title: Community renewables in the UK - a clash of cultures?

Authors: Jelte Harnmeijer; David Toke; Bill Slee

Addresses: Scene Connect, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, High School Yard, Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ, Scotland; James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland; University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ, Scotland ' Department of Politics and International Relations, King's College Regents Walk, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, Scotland ' James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland

Abstract: Community renewables policy and uptake are analysed and compared between Scotland, England and Wales, using a 'cultural frames' approach. Until very recently, the majority of UK community renewable capacity (in megawatt terms) was rolled out in Scotland. More egalitarian approaches to organising community renewables are observed in Scotland compared to more individualistic approaches in England and Wales. We argue that this may be associated with the existence of more 'communitarian' oriented local institutions in Scotland as opposed to England and Wales. However, the future trend of community renewables policy may be towards a more hierarchical modality in that governments are now stressing the advantages of partnering community renewable initiatives with commercial renewable energy schemes.

Keywords: community energy; political economy; cultural theory; social organisation; Scotland; England; Wales; institutional economics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTIP.2018.094408

International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, 2018 Vol.12 No.1, pp.99 - 120

Received: 02 Nov 2017
Accepted: 28 Mar 2018
Published online: 31 Aug 2018 *