Abstract
Community renewable energy projects are contributing diverse sustainability benefits in a transforming energy landscape, but in Western Australia, projects are few and far between, and the state is being left behind in national policy discussions. Drawing upon a socio-technical framework which conceptualises the context of innovation journeys according to patterns in the context, we investigate Western Australia and its major electricity network as a site for community-driven renewable energy development. Our case study analysis suggests that project development in Western Australia to date has survived in niche pockets, which have been unusually conducive to community energy development, in a context otherwise riddled with political, technical and regulatory hurdles.
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Notes
- 1.
An Electricity Market Review was launched by the WA Minister for Energy in early 2014. As a result a series of reforms to the market and network were proposed. A package of bills to transfer regulation of the SWIS network to the national electricity regulatory framework is currently on hold (Public Utilities Office 2017a).
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Lawonski, E., Hodgson, N., Whale, J. (2018). Context and Community Renewable Energy Development in Western Australia: Towards Effective Policy and Practice. In: Sayigh, A. (eds) Transition Towards 100% Renewable Energy. Innovative Renewable Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69844-1_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69844-1_23
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