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- Convenor:
-
Pritish Behuria
(University of Manchester)
Send message to Convenor
- Location:
- L30 (Richmond building)
- Start time:
- 6 September, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
The panel will examine the politics around clean energy transitions in developing countries. Case studies of specific sectors and examinations of inter-country politics are welcome.
Long Abstract:
In recent years, developing countries have chosen to encourage investments in renewable energy (wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal etc.) Some countries have done this while adopting aggressive strategies to acquire technological capabilities in these sectors e.g. China. Meanwhile, others (including most African countries and India to an extent) have pursued such strategies while paying less attention to technology acquisition. Increasing investments in renewable energy around the world have also meant that power politics around the global energy sectors has transformed.
This panel invites papers examining the different strategies pursued in developing countries to encourage their renewable energy sectors including case studies of specific sectors. It will also welcome papers that explore the global renewable energy sector and politics between countries.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Kathryn Hochstetler (LSE)
Paper short abstract:
Renewable energy transitions are most often studied through the lens of production choices. This paper looks instead at how the political economy of electricity consumption also affects the speed and character of such transitions, using case studies of wind and solar power in Brazil and South Africa
Paper long abstract:
The provision of basic services like electricity is part of the governing pact between modern states and their societies. Citizens provide political support and revenues through taxes and fees for the state. In return, they expect that states will provide the basic infrastructures of security, energy, transportation, and the like, which are the foundations of modern economic life. Yet real states deliver on these promises more and less well - and unequally.
In this paper, I discuss electricity distribution and consumption through a broad political economy framing. Electricity provision is not just a technical task of building generation, transmission, and distribution capacity, but responds to how the state manages and organizes the economy. I argue that electricity provision also reflects which political coalitions and actors can make effective demands to have their electricity consumption needs met in conditions when not all do. These are fundamental distributive questions, at the heart of the central political question of who gets what and when: who benefits from electricity policies? In particular, I ask whether the electricity regimes in Brazil and South Africa have consolidated or reduced socioeconomic inequalities. I also ask how the introduction of renewable sources of electricity like wind and solar power may affect those dynamics.
The paper is based on extended fieldwork in Brazil and South Africa, and draws on interviews with policy makers and activists. It also uses data from household and industry surveys to present a broader picture of electricity consumption in the two countries.
Nadia Singh (Oxford Brookes University)
Paper short abstract:
The paper evaluates the local outcomes of global bioenergy projects on the basis of an in depth case study of Punjab, India. The research is based on participatory field based research and analyses these developments by incorporating the voices of the multiple stakeholders involved.
Paper long abstract:
Many developing nations are plagued with a multipronged crisis in the energy sector: widespread energy poverty, excessive dependence on oil imports and high ecological damage due to extensive use of fossil fuels. These concerns have led to a shift towards alternative energy sources across many emerging economies. Of all the other renewables, bioenergy was touted as the "fuel of the future" at the beginning of the 21st century. However, in recent years many adverse impacts of commercial bioenergy production have come to the forefront. These include land use change, competition with food crops leading to heightened food insecurity across many countries and exploitation of locals by bioenergy producers. There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the role of bioenergy as a sustainable energy alternative in developing countries. This study fulfills this gap in literature by exploring the opportunities and limitations of bioenergy initiatives through an in-depth case study, based on participatory field research in Punjab, India. The region is being promoted for a leading role in the green energy sector in India. Our analysis unearths the value chains, actors, drivers and discourses surrounding these developments as well as the inter-relationships between bioenergy and household energy aspirations. The key results from this research reveal that in order to be a sustainable energy alternative, bioenergy policies need to be more people-centric, address the needs of local communities, and be cognizant of the inherent socio-economic embeddedness of these initiatives.
Pritish Behuria (University of Manchester)
Paper short abstract:
The Indian government has embarked on an ambitious strategy to increase its solar power capacity to 100 GW by 2022. This paper will examine the political economy challenges associated with doing this in very little time and with very little policy space, with regards to manufacturing capacity.
Paper long abstract:
The Modi Government has embarked on an ambitious solar energy strategy over the past few years. The aim is for India's solar energy capacity to reach 100 GW by 2022, with the current capacity at a little over 7 GW. To achieve such targets, the government has initiated a number of reforms including making land acquisition much easier but it has also opened up bids on several solar energy projects across the country on a competitive basis. Those positive about the strategy have highlighted that this has resulted in solar power becoming cheaper than thermal power in India. However, there are serious questions about whether this is negatively impacting India's local manufacturing capacity in the solar energy sector and whether it is creating long-term dependency on foreign technology. Such dangers came to a head when the United States won a WTO ruling against India's local content requirements for solar energy investments in 2016.
This paper builds on 25 interviews undertaken with firms, government officials and consultants between March and April 2016. It will aim to highlight the political economy challenges associated with India's solar energy strategy thus far, particularly in relation to the speed of the strategy and the minimal space in which manufacturing capacity may be developed. It will aim to contribute to broader discussions about the political economy of India in relation to the consequences of market-led reforms. It will also showcase the new distribution of power that is accompanying clean energy transitions globally.