Considering socio-energy assemblage to characterise innovative energy intermediaries
Résumé
While energy consumption is mainly located in urban area, most of the production takes place outside of cities and is then supplied to the cities through large networks whose role in urban and energy planning is currently being studied (Coutard, Rutherford 2016). This decoupling is being changing since small stakeholders, from local authorities to private companies and citizens, are now encouraged to produce energy at different scales, either to sell it to the utility or for individual or collective self-consumption. Hence, intra-urban and urban-rural intermediation between consumption and production are now a key issue in so-called energy transition (Moss, Guy, Marvin, Medd 2011).
Whether they are communities (Walker, Devine-Wright, 2008; Seyfang, Park, Smith, 2013) or cities (Geels, 2013), intermediaries meet the resistance of incumbent players of infrastructure regimes (Geels, 2014; Bulkeley, Castán Broto, Maassen, 2014). Because of overlooking spatial processes (Coenen Benneworth, Truffer, 2012; Hansen, Coenen, 2015), the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) remains unable to explore the relation between regimes and social innovations as well as sociotechnical innovations.
Other concepts are required. Debizet, Tabourdeau, Menanteau and Gauthier (2016) proposed the notion of Socio-Energy Node (SEN) Assemblage, through which actors and artefacts can be traced within energy networks. SEN is a group of elements, which collects, converts and/or supplies energy, built by a decision-maker interacting with stakeholders and regime rule. This notion considers the decision-making mosaic. Hence, it highlights the specific role of innovative intermediary.
Considering socio-energy assemblage, this communication will present how innovative intermediaries deal with energy regimes and with building regimes. Case studies focus on French cities and different energy carriers. Thus key characteristics of innovative energy intermediaries will be proposed.