Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem offers an innovative approach to equip interdisciplinary research on sociotechnical transitions with coherence and focus. The book emphasizes sociotechnical problems in three analytical dimensions:
- In the control dimension, contributing authors examine how control can be maintained despite increasing complexity and uncertainty, e.g., in power grid operations or on energy markets;
- In the change dimension, the authors explore if and how change is possible despite the need for stable orientation, e.g., regarding discourses, real-world labs and learning;
- Finally, in the action dimension, the authors analyze how the ability to act on a permanent basis is sustained despite opaqueness and ignorance, exemplified by the work on trust, capabilities or individual motives.
Drawing on contributions from engineering, economics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology, the book assembles a range of classic and current themes including innovation, resilience, institutional economics, design or education. Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem presents the ongoing transformation of the energy complex as a multidimensional process, in which the analytical dimensions interact with each other in shaping the energy future. As such, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy science and environmental social science more generally, as well as to practitioners working within the field of energy policy.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Christian Büscher, Jens Schippl and Patrick Sumpf
Chapter 2: Framing Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem of Control, Change, and
Action
Christian Büscher
Part I: Sociotechnical Problem of Control
Chapter 3: Power Systems in Transition: Dealing with Complexity
Wolfgang Kröger and Cen Nan
Chapter 4: Aligning Institutions and Technologies in Energy Systems
Rolf W. Künneke
Chapter 5: Exposure and Vulnerability of the Energy System to Internal and
External Effects
Marcus Wiens, Wolfgang Raskob, Florian Diehlmann, Stefan Wandler, and Frank
Schultmann
Part II: Sociotechnical Problem of Change
Chapter 6: Real World Experiments as Generators of Sociotechnical Change
Matthias Gross
Chapter 7: Learning and Disruptive Innovation in Energy Transitions: Who
Causes Which Constraints in the German Electricity Transition?
Gerhard Fuchs
Chapter 8: Energy System Transformation and Inertia in the UK: A
Discourse-Institutional Perspective
Audley Genus, Marfuga Iskandarova and Leigh Champagnie
Part III: Sociotechnical Problem of Action
Chapter 9: The Energy System and Trust: Public, Organizational, and
Transsystemic Perspectives
Patrick Sumpf
Chapter 10: Shaping Our Energy Future: The Irreducible Entanglement of the
Ethical, Social, and Technical Realms
Rafaela Hillerbrand
Chapter 11: Technology and Motives: The Challenge of Energy Consumption
Behavior
Siegmar Otto and Inga Wittenberg
Addendum: Observing Sociotechnical Problems
Chapter 12: Observing Amplified Sociotechnical Complexity: Challenges for
Technology Assessment Regarding Energy Transitions
Todd R. La Porte
Chapter 13: Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem: A Concluding Discussion
Christian Büscher, Jens Schippl and Patrick Sumpf
Christian Büscher is a senior researcher at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.
Jens Schippl is a senior researcher at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.
Patrick Sumpf is a research associate at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.
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