IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v138y2021ics1364032120308522.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

California's adoption of microgrids: A tale of symbiotic regimes and energy transitions

Author

Listed:
  • Ajaz, Warda
  • Bernell, David

Abstract

California is a pioneer in energy system innovations, and it is not surprising that the state is leading the nation in the adoption of microgrids. However, the inherent characteristics of microgrids make them challenging to integrate and operate within the current energy system. This is mainly because unlike other decentralized energy systems, microgrids often tend to interact with the centralized grid infrastructure as both a parallel and a competing distribution grid model at the micro scale. The adoption and integration of microgrids, therefore, represents a socio-technical transition in the electric power sector. In this context, this study relies on the Multi-Level Perspective framework to examine the drivers, contexts, processes, and policies that have enabled an ongoing transition in California's electricity system that has allowed adoption of microgrids. The analysis shows that even though several drivers carry weight, including resilience concerns and market factors, California's pathway to microgrids is largely driven by the legislative and regulatory push toward clean energy and a symbiotic relationship between powerful regime actors and a microgrid niche. This is enabling a transformation in the state's energy system, in which the entry of microgrids is subtly facilitated by the regime in a way that does not threaten the current utility-dominated electricity system. By providing a detailed account of how a decentralized energy system that challenges the centralized grid regime has made its place in the centralized grid regime in California, this paper identifies the key facets that affect the integration of microgrids in the broader context of energy transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ajaz, Warda & Bernell, David, 2021. "California's adoption of microgrids: A tale of symbiotic regimes and energy transitions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s1364032120308522
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.110568
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120308522
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110568?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hirsch, Adam & Parag, Yael & Guerrero, Josep, 2018. "Microgrids: A review of technologies, key drivers, and outstanding issues," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 402-411.
    2. Farrelly, M.A. & Tawfik, S., 2020. "Engaging in disruption: A review of emerging microgrids in Victoria, Australia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    3. Geels, Frank W. & Schot, Johan, 2007. "Typology of sociotechnical transition pathways," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 399-417, April.
    4. Geels, Frank W., 2002. "Technological transitions as evolutionary reconfiguration processes: a multi-level perspective and a case-study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1257-1274, December.
    5. Berkeley, Nigel & Bailey, David & Jones, Andrew & Jarvis, David, 2017. "Assessing the transition towards Battery Electric Vehicles: A Multi-Level Perspective on drivers of, and barriers to, take up," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 320-332.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Zachary E. & Zhang, K. Max, 2023. "Regulated peer-to-peer energy markets for harnessing decentralized demand flexibility," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hirschhorn, Fabio & Paulsson, Alexander & Sørensen, Claus H. & Veeneman, Wijnand, 2019. "Public transport regimes and mobility as a service: Governance approaches in Amsterdam, Birmingham, and Helsinki," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 178-191.
    2. Nikas, A. & Koasidis, K. & Köberle, A.C. & Kourtesi, G. & Doukas, H., 2022. "A comparative study of biodiesel in Brazil and Argentina: An integrated systems of innovation perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    3. Sam Wilkinson & Michele John & Gregory M. Morrison, 2021. "Rooftop PV and the Renewable Energy Transition; a Review of Driving Forces and Analytical Frameworks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Warneryd, Martin & Håkansson, Maria & Karltorp, Kersti, 2020. "Unpacking the complexity of community microgrids: A review of institutions’ roles for development of microgrids," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Ajaz, Warda & Bernell, David, 2021. "Microgrids and the transition toward decentralized energy systems in the United States: A Multi-Level Perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Thomas Magnusson & Viktor Werner, 2023. "Conceptualisations of incumbent firms in sustainability transitions: Insights from organisation theory and a systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 903-919, February.
    7. Hirt, Léon F. & Sahakian, Marlyne & Trutnevyte, Evelina, 2022. "What subnational imaginaries for solar PV? The case of the Swiss energy transition," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Wiegand, Julia, 2017. "Dezentrale Stromerzeugung als Chance zur Stärkung der Energie-Resilienz: Eine qualitative Analyse kommunaler Strategien im Raum Unna," Wuppertaler Studienarbeiten zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, volume 11, number 11.
    9. Capellán-Pérez, Iñigo & Campos-Celador, Álvaro & Terés-Zubiaga, Jon, 2018. "Renewable Energy Cooperatives as an instrument towards the energy transition in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 215-229.
    10. Funcke, Simon & Bauknecht, Dierk, 2016. "Typology of centralised and decentralised visions for electricity infrastructure," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 67-74.
    11. Bessi, Alessandro & Guidolin, Mariangela & Manfredi, Piero, 2021. "The role of gas on future perspectives of renewable energy diffusion: Bridging technology or lock-in?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    12. Jihed Hmad & Azeddine Houari & Allal El Moubarek Bouzid & Abdelhakim Saim & Hafedh Trabelsi, 2023. "A Review on Mode Transition Strategies between Grid-Connected and Standalone Operation of Voltage Source Inverters-Based Microgrids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-41, June.
    13. Eleftheria Vasileiadou & Boukje Huijben & Rob Raven, 2014. "Crowdfunding niches? Exploring the potential of crowdfunding for financing renewable energy niches in the Netherlands," Working Papers 14-11, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies, revised Nov 2014.
    14. Pradeep Racherla & Munir Mandviwalla, 2013. "Moving from Access to Use of the Information Infrastructure: A Multilevel Sociotechnical Framework," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 709-730, September.
    15. Barbanente, Angela & Grassini, Laura, 2022. "Fostering transitions in landscape policies: A multi-level perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    16. Colvin, John & Blackmore, Chris & Chimbuya, Sam & Collins, Kevin & Dent, Mark & Goss, John & Ison, Ray & Roggero, Pier Paolo & Seddaiu, Giovanna, 2014. "In search of systemic innovation for sustainable development: A design praxis emerging from a decade of social learning inquiry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 760-771.
    17. Tiia-Lotta Pekkanen, 2021. "Institutions and Agency in the Sustainability of Day-to-Day Consumption Practices: An Institutional Ethnographic Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 241-260, January.
    18. Brem, Alexander & Radziwon, Agnieszka, 2017. "Efficient Triple Helix collaboration fostering local niche innovation projects – A case from Denmark," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 130-141.
    19. Alessandro Grimaldi & Antonio Lopolito & Massimo Monteleone & Piergiuseppe Morone & Maurizio Prosperi, 2009. "Wp 6: Modelling Stakeholder Interplay And Policy Scenarios For Biorefinery And Biodiesel Production," Quaderni DSEMS 02-2009, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Matematiche e Statistiche, Universita' di Foggia.
    20. André Sorensen & Anna-Katharina Brenner, 2021. "Cities, Urban Property Systems, and Sustainability Transitions: Contested Processes of Institutional Change and the Regulation of Urban Property Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s1364032120308522. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.