On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Community Acceptance and Renewable Energy
3. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework
4. Research Methodology: A Systems Thinking Perspective
5. Causal-Loop Diagrams Related to the Acceptance of RES Projects
5.1. Social Capital
5.2. Human Capital
5.3. Physical Capital
5.4. Natural Capital
5.5. Financial Capital
6. Discussion
7. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Factor | Articles | Excerpts of Potential Causal Links |
---|---|---|
Roles shift/Changes in old practices | [20,57,60,61,62,64,71] | “Gender considerations come into play because in many developing countries, the current lack of energy in rural areas has a disproportionate impact on women. They are the ones primarily responsible for collecting and managing traditional biomass fuels” [60] (p. 945). “Renewable energy may be in a unique position to promote a paradigm shift in agricultural production, by making possible irrigation and associated modern technology and practices” [60] (p. 943). |
Leisure time | [60,62,63] | “There are alternative energy technologies (AETs) that offer significant potential in terms of reducing women’s drudgery, improving health conditions, freeing time for involvement in income-generating, social, and community development activities for their self-enhancement and empowerment” [62] (p. 407). |
Social Interaction/Knowledge sharing | [60,62,63,109] | “Such technologies have been able to/…/provide opportunities for women to be involved in some social and economic activities” [62] (p. 409). |
Income-generating activities/involvement in other productive activities | [3,5,57,60,61,62,65,71,80,83,102] | “In many countries, poverty is prolonged particularly by the unsustainable collection of biomass and its use in traditional, inefficient stoves./…/It requires large amounts of time for fuel gathering—reducing the time available for other productive activities, such as farming and education” [5] (p. 1119). “In addition, women are the main producers of food crops in many areas. If these women could grow oil-producing crops, sell them for income, and also use the oil for motorized power, electricity generation, household activities and profitable enterprises, this could open up exciting new opportunities for local economic development. Studies have shown that women can also profit by establishing and sharing in bioenergy processing operations” [60] (p. 945). |
Productive hours at night | [5,68,69,70] | “Modern energy services enhance the life of the poor in countless ways. Electric light extends the day, providing extra hours for reading and work” [5] (p. 1119). |
Health conditions | [2,3,5,8,62,65,68,70,71,79,80,109] | “Traditional technologies have a negative impact on women’s health due, for example, to the smoke from firewood and to their heavy workload” [62] (p. 409). “Since the diesel generator had been removed and there was therefore no more noise and air pollution from this source, an improvement in health could be expected” [109] (p. 652). |
Possibility to employ different technologies/access to new technologies | [65,67,98] | “Renewable energy can play an important role in helping to meet basic energy needs in peri-urban zones and in rural areas, through the use of modern technologies” [67] (p. 1). “Solar photovoltaics (PV) installed in the country are mainly in the rural areas at service centres such as schools and hospitals as well as individual homes. In rural areas, PV is used for lighting, radio and television” [67] (p. 29). |
Labour productivity | [20,62,68,70,83,94,99,100,101,102] | “It would reduce the time and drudgery required for gathering firewood and other biomass resources—some of the saved time could be used for other economically productive applications in the case of adults, and for education in the case of children” [70] (p. 1370). |
Level of education | [3,5,68,69,70,73,74,75,76,77,78] | “Among other benefits, access to electricity/…/extends the daily productive hours, allowing children to study in the evenings and obtain a better education through the use of new technologies at schools” [69] (p. 275). |
State of village’s infrastructure/Village’s competitiveness | [68,81,82,83] | “Currently, the growing recognition of energy as part of the solutions for society needs to draw attention to the evolution of the infrastructure projects related to energy production, distribution and use as a way to improve quality of life and to support sustainable development./…/The availability of an adequate infrastructure for water, energy, roads, industry or communications has been identified as a fundamental element for the productivity and competitiveness of nations. In fact, the conditions of such infrastructure have an important effect over national costs, logistics and processes in general. They also have an influence on population health and educational levels and may reduce income inequalities” [83] (p. 686). |
Attractiveness for investment | [5,22,59,83,84,110] | “Therefore, the increased deployment of renewable sources as a means to improve the electricity access rate in less developing economies largely hinges upon their ability to identify innovative mechanisms to attract both domestic and foreign capital and increase financing” [110] (p. 2201). |
Energy demand | [5,21,22,79,90] | “Energy plays an important role in human welfare. The dynamic hypothesis is: the more development, more energy demand” [22] (p. 203). |
Deforestation | [5,60,68,80,110] | “Similarly, the collection and burning of woody biomass can have effects on ground cover, and the burning of dung can affect the level of nutrients being returned to the soil. However, the link between the energy uses of biomass and deforestation varies from location to location” [60] (p. 946). |
Human intervention/Depletion of fauna & flora | [10,11,12,13,14,27,28,62,68,80,85,86,87,88,89] | “Traditional firewood cooking causes faster depletion of biomass resources and adds to the women’s working hours in collecting firewood” [62] (p. 409). |
Pollution and GHG emissions | [26,65,70,71] | “Many people are well aware that fossil fuels are a major contributor to environmental damage such as acid rain and global warming. In addition, nuclear power is not seen as an acceptable alternative by many. Sources of renewable energy are generally accepted as clean or environmentally friendly and this is a very strong motivating factor for some” [71] (p. 188). |
Creation of jobs related to operation and implementation of RES | [59,65,68,71] | “The development of renewable energy might contribute to the rural community in three different perspectives such as by creating jobs, by creating local tax income from sold off energy and by reducing the costs of energy after the initial set up cost” [71] (p. 186). “The creation of a few jobs may have a significant impact on isolated local communities with scarce development and employment alternatives” [59] (p. 1330). |
Access to financial services | [66,96,97] | “RETs could thus be selectively applied to various rural applications, potentially generating income, improving health and educational quality, and increasing labour productivity. However, such potential benefits arising from RETs may be realised only through a process that appropriately harnesses the social and financial context of village life. [66] (p. 336). Lack of capital is the major constraint to such income-generating activities. Such activities (raising livestock, handicrafts, tailoring, etc.) that can be facilitated by a micro-credit loan distribution system have already been found more applicable to rural women than to men in rural Bangladesh” [66] (p. 337). |
Organization and institutions/legal and regulatory framework/Corruption and Rent-seeking | [5,15,66,68,70,98,103,104,106,110,111] | “Government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), development organizations and other actors have been involved in a variety of programs to enhance—quantitatively and qualitatively—energy services for the poor” [70] (p. 1368). “Several barriers that have prevented penetration of RETs have been listed in the literature. These include cost-effectiveness, technical barriers, and market barriers such as inconsistent pricing structures, institutional, political and regulatory barriers, and social and environmental barriers” [98] (p. 75). |
Community’s acceptance | [2,8,9,17,18,19,20,25,26,29,30,31,58,71,91] | “The acceptance of renewable energy is more likely if the community feels that its current supply is problematical. It may be that the lifestyle changes mentioned above are wholly acceptable as they are already equivalent to or an improvement on the current situation” [71] (p. 188). |
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González, A.M.; Sandoval, H.; Acosta, P.; Henao, F. On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective. Sustainability 2016, 8, 1171. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8111171
González AM, Sandoval H, Acosta P, Henao F. On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective. Sustainability. 2016; 8(11):1171. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8111171
Chicago/Turabian StyleGonzález, Ana María, Harrison Sandoval, Pilar Acosta, and Felipe Henao. 2016. "On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective" Sustainability 8, no. 11: 1171. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8111171