Publications by category
Journal articles
Soutar I (In Press). Soutar I, Devine-Wright P, Rohse M, Walker C, Gooding L, Devine-Wright H, Kay I (2022). Submission of Paper to Energy Policy: “Constructing Practices of Engagement with Users and Communities: Comparing Emergent State-Led Smart Local Energy Systems”. .
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P, Rohse M, Walker C, Gooding L, Devine-Wright H, Kay I (2023). Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: Comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems. Energy Policy, 171, 113279-113279.
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Soutar I (2022). Energy democracy: a digital future?.
Energy Research and Social Science,
91 (September 2022)Abstract:
Energy democracy: a digital future?
Academic exploration of energy democracy has produced a rich theorization of its foundations that exhibits significant pluralism in response to different geographic, social, ideological and technical contexts. This paper develops the literature by considering how sociotechnical transitions associated with energy system digitalization may affect the theory and praxis of energy democracy. Our analysis draws on three dimensions of energy democracy: popular sovereignty, participatory governance, and civic ownership. Digitalization is shown to both present challenges and new avenues for the exercise and study of energy democracy. Firstly, digitalization simultaneously enables and constrains the exercise of popular sovereignty by diversifying energy citizen roles and complicating accountability. Secondly, digitalization creates new dimensions of risk around skills, knowledge and resource access, which can exclude citizens from participatory governance. Thirdly, digitalization challenges common conceptions of civic ownership by introducing new material-software dependencies and re-defining the assets that underpin the energy system. Finally, digitalization fundamentally changes the nature of decision-making, potentially undermining current understandings of the concept and its democratic function. Further exploration of ‘digital energy democracy’ would hold value for research and practice in the sector.
Abstract.
McKenna R, Mulalic I, Soutar I, Weinand JM, Price J, Petrović S, Mainzer K (2022). Exploring trade-offs between landscape impact, land use and resource quality for onshore variable renewable energy: an application to Great Britain. Energy, 250, 123754-123754.
Soutar I (2021). Dancing with complexity: Making sense of decarbonisation, decentralisation, digitalisation and democratisation. Energy Research & Social Science, 80, 102230-102230.
Pownall T, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2021). Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources.
Energies,
14(4), 1124-1124.
Abstract:
Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources
The design of electricity markets determines the technologies, services and modes of operation that can access value, consequently shaping current and future electricity landscapes. This paper highlights that the efficacy of Great Britain’s electricity market design in facilitating net zero is inadequate and must be reconfigured. The rules of the current electricity market design are remnants of an electricity sector dominated by large-scale, centralised, fossil fuel technologies. Therefore, routes to market for the provision of necessary services to support net zero, not least flexibility, are largely inaccessible for distributed energy resources and, despite their benefits to the system, are thus undervalued. Based upon a review and consolidation of 30 proposed electricity market designs from liberalised electricity sectors, this paper proposes a new electricity market design for Great Britain. This design is presented alongside a new institutional framework to aid in the efficient operation of the market. Specifically, this paper proposes a new local balancing and coordinating market located at each grid supply point (the transmission and distribution interface). This is realised through the implementation of a distributed locational marginal pricing structure which is governed by the evolution of the current distributed network operator, known as the distributed service provider (DSP). The DSP also operates a local balancing and ancillary market for their geographical area. The wholesale market is reconfigured to coordinate with these new local markets and to harmonise the actors across the distribution and transmission network.
Abstract.
Suckling J, Hoolohan C, Soutar I, Druckman A (2021). Unintended Consequences: Unknowable and Unavoidable, or Knowable and Unforgivable?.
Frontiers in Climate,
3Abstract:
Unintended Consequences: Unknowable and Unavoidable, or Knowable and Unforgivable?
Recognizing that there are multiple environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate, it is essential that potential negative outcomes of seemingly positive actions are accounted for. This alertness to unintended consequences underscores the importance of so called “nexus” research, which recognizes the integrated and interactive nature of water, energy and food systems, and aims to understand the broader implications of developments in any one of these systems. This article presents a novel framework for categorizing such detrimental unintended consequences, based upon how much is known about the system in question and the scope for avoiding any such unintended consequences. The framework comprises four categories (Knowable and Avoidable; Knowable and Unavoidable; Unknowable and Avoidable, and Unknowable and Unavoidable). The categories are explored with reference to examples in both the water-energy-food nexus and planetary boundary frameworks. The examples highlight the potential for the unexpected to happen and explore dynamic nature of the situations that give rise to the unexpected. The article concludes with guidance on how the framework can be used to increase confidence that best efforts have been made to navigate our way toward secure and sustainable water, energy and food systems, avoiding and/or managing unintended consequences along the way.
Abstract.
Hoolohan C, Soutar I, Suckling J, Druckman A, Larkin A, McLachlan C (2019). Stepping-up innovations in the water–energy–food nexus: a case study of anaerobic digestion in the UK.
Geographical Journal,
185(4), 391-405.
Abstract:
Stepping-up innovations in the water–energy–food nexus: a case study of anaerobic digestion in the UK
Grand societal challenges such as climate change, poverty and biodiversity loss call for rapid and radical changes to systems of production and consumption. Consequently, there is a growing interest in the dynamics of innovation, both social and technical, to accelerate innovation diffusion so as to increase the possibility of a step-change or large-scale transition. Research on the water–energy–food nexus adds an additional dimension to existing discussions, calling for transitions that recognise the sustainability challenges facing three major resource domains, and the synergies and tensions involved in their management. This paper examines anaerobic digestion (AD) – an example of innovation with potential benefits across the water–energy–food nexus – to understand the conditions that influence the rate of AD implementation and the achievement of its potential multi-sectoral benefits across the water–energy–food nexus. Interview data regarding 15 AD plants are examined alongside complementary data from interviews and workshops using the Technological Innovation Systems framework. This framework provides an analytical structure through which the processes that enable and constrain the implementation of AD in the UK can be examined, enabling the identification of potential mechanisms to support AD's wider and more effective deployment. The findings call for recognition of the unintended consequences of sectoral support mechanisms for technological adaptation, and consequent performance of AD in other resource domains and call for greater integration between policy mechanisms to enable AD to perform across the nexus. They also highlight a need to assimilate knowledge from multiple sources (including site-specific understanding gained from experimentation) to enhance the base on which policy and decision-making occurs. These findings contribute to existing literature on sustainable transitions by examining the complexities of multi-sectoral resource management in the context of nexus research.
Abstract.
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Pownall T, Bray R, Poulter H, Soutar I, Lowes R, Connor P, Britton J, Woodman B, et al (2019). The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
118Abstract:
The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation
'Energy decentralisation' means many things to many people. Among the confusion of definitions and practices that may be characterised as decentralisation, three broad causal narratives are commonly (implicitly or explicitly) invoked. These narratives imply that the process of decentralisation: i) will result in appropriate changes to rules and institutions, ii) will be more democratic and iii) is directly and causally linked to energy system decarbonisation. The principal aim of this paper is to critically examine these narratives. By conceptualising energy decentralisation as a distinct class of sociotechnical transition pathway, we present a comparative analysis of energy decentralisation in Cornwall, South West UK, the French island of Ushant and the National Electricity Market in Australia. We show that, while energy decentralisation is often strongly correlated with institutional change, increasing citizen agency in the energy system, and enhanced environmental performance, these trends cannot be assumed as given. Indeed, some decentralisation pathways may entrench incumbent actors' interests or block rapid decarbonisation. In particular, we show how institutional context is a key determinant of the link between energy decentralisation and normative goals such as democratisation and decarbonisation. While institutional theory suggests that changes in rules and institutions are often incremental and path-dependent, the dense legal and regulatory arrangements that develop around the electricity sector seem particularly resistant to adaptive change. Consequently, policymakers seeking to pursue normative goals such as democratisation or decarbonisation through energy decentralisation need to look beyond technology towards the rules, norms and laws that constitute the energy governance system.
Abstract.
Hoolohan C, Larkin A, McLachlan C, Falconer R, Soutar I, Suckling J, Varga L, Haltas I, Druckman A, Lumbroso D, et al (2018). Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges.
Sustainability Science,
13(5), 1415-1426.
Abstract:
Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges
The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become a popular, and potentially powerful, frame through which to analyse interactions and interdependencies between these three systems. Though the case for transdisciplinary research in this space has been made, the extent of stakeholder engagement in research remains limited with stakeholders most commonly incorporated in research as end-users. Yet, stakeholders interact with nexus issues in a variety of ways, consequently there is much that collaboration might offer to develop nexus research and enhance its application. This paper outlines four aspects of nexus research and considers the value and potential challenges for transdisciplinary research in each. We focus on assessing and visualising nexus systems; understanding governance and capacity building; the importance of scale; and the implications of future change. The paper then proceeds to describe a novel mixed-method study that deeply integrates stakeholder knowledge with insights from multiple disciplines. We argue that mixed-method research designs—in this case orientated around a number of cases studies—are best suited to understanding and addressing real-world nexus challenges, with their inevitable complex, non-linear system characteristics. Moreover, integrating multiple forms of knowledge in the manner described in this paper enables research to assess the potential for, and processes of, scaling-up innovations in the nexus space, to contribute insights to policy and decision making.
Abstract.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2017). Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system.
Energy Research and Social Science,
35, 132-139.
Abstract:
Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Issues of societal engagement in the energy system pervade both the study and the doing of energy policy. In both realms, narratives as persuasive ‘vehicles of meaning’ help us both to make sense of society's role in past and current energy systems, and shape these roles in future energy systems. However, our eagerness to simplify complex histories and unwritten futures means that the narratives we create are often reliant on assumptions. This has implications for the degree to which narratives can find pragmatism, and thus be valuable, to a wide range of stakeholders. Drawing both on historic accounts of societal engagement in energy systems alongside emerging discourses around future energy systems, this paper offers several points of caution for the use of narratives of engagement. In terms of historic narratives, these relate to hindsight bias, predictability, and normative positioning, the combination of which depict histories of engagement as retrospectively obvious, and falsely suggest a controllability of past events. In terms of forward-looking narratives, while optimism and ambiguity play key roles in garnering interest in visions among stakeholders, they also mean that narratives vary in their relevance, and thus value to, different stakeholders. Fundamentally, narratives must find legitimacy in the actors they purport to recruit, and must thus simultaneously attend to regulative, normative and cognitive aspects of energy system engagement.
Abstract.
Rowan JS, Carwardine J, Duck RW, Bragg OM, Black AR, Cutler MEJ, Soutar I, Boon PJ (2006). Development of a technique for Lake Habitat Survey (LHS) with applications for the European Union Water Framework Directive. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 16(6), 637-657.
Chapters
Soutar I (2018). Community Energy as a site for Social Innovation. In Backhaus J, Genus A, Lorek S, Vadovics E, Wittmayer J (Eds.) Social Innovation and Sustainable Consumption: Research and Action for Societal Transformation.
Britton J, Soutar I (2013). Energy Security Policy in Britain: Markets, Complexity and Challenges. In Mitchell C, Watson J, Britton J (Eds.)
New Challenges in Energy Security the UK in a Multipolar World, Palgrave Macmillan, 68-91.
Abstract:
Energy Security Policy in Britain: Markets, Complexity and Challenges
Abstract.
Soutar I, Whiting J (2013). Energy security policy in Britain: Markets, complexity and challenges. In Mitchell C, Watson J, Whiting J (Eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security: the UK in a Multipolar World, London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Conferences
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). How do Smart Local Energy System projects understand and engage with publics?. Iain Soutar. 20th - 23rd Jun 2022.
Judson E, Soutar I, Fitch-Roy O (2021). Energy democracy: a digital future?. Joint Annual Conference of the Science, Technology and Society Unit - Graz University of Technology, the Inter-Disciplinary Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture (IFZ) and the Institute of Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS). 3rd - 5th May 2021.
Soutar I (2019). Emergence and control in UK energy system democratisation. in Search of Good Energy Policy.
Soutar I (2018). Energy System Change: Insights for the Circular Economy?. Circular Economy Disruptions: Past, Present and Future. 8th - 10th Jun 2018.
Author URL.
Soutar I (2018). Understanding innovation at the Water-Energy-Food nexus. 9th International Sustainability Transitions Conference. 12th - 14th Jun 2018.
Haltas I, Suckling J, Soutar I, Druckman A, Varga L (2017). Anaerobic digestion: a prime solution for water, energy and food nexus challenges.
Abstract:
Anaerobic digestion: a prime solution for water, energy and food nexus challenges
Abstract.
Soutar I (2017). Balancing diversity and coherence in innovation space-making at the water-energy-food nexus. Energy-water-climate change nexus (EWCN) in a transitional economy: sustainability and resilience. 22nd - 26th May 2017.
Soutar I (2017). Conditions for transformation in the water-energy-food nexus. Transformations 2017: Transformations in Practice. 30th Aug - 1st Sep 2017.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2017). Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system. AAG Annual Meeting.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2016). Grappling with Wickedness: the articulation of WEF nexus governance in the UK. RGS Annual Conference.
Soutar I (2015). The role of social capital in energy systems transformation: Insights from community energy. SCORAI workshop: ‘Beyond’ Transition? Understanding & Achieving Sustainable Consumption through Social Innovation.
Abstract:
The role of social capital in energy systems transformation: Insights from community energy
Abstract.
Author URL.
Soutar I (2015). The use (and abuse?) of evidence in the development of the UK Community Energy Strategy. the interface between sustainability research and policy. 26th - 27th Jan 2015.
Soutar I (2014). Is small-scale beautiful (and how beautiful?): Understanding the role of community energy within the wider UK energy system. Earth Systems Governance.
Soutar I (2013). What role for small-scale energy? Understanding the value of challenging large-scale lock-in. Facing the Future Symposium. 10th - 12th Apr 2013.
Rowan JS, Soutar I, Phillips GE (2006). Morphometric analysis of UK lake systems as a compliance tool for the European Water Framework Directive.
Author URL.
Reports
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). How can Smart Local Energy Systems projects and policies engage more effectively with the public?.
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). Submission to the Net Zero Review Call for Evidence, Oct 2022.
Judson E, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2020).
Governance Challenges Emerging from Energy Digitalisation. EPG Discussion Paper: EPG2002. Author URL.
Larkin A, Abdel-Aal M, Druckman A, Falconer R, Forbes P, Hoolohan C, Lumbroso D, McLachlan C, Scott M, Shu Q, et al (2019). Stepping up. What will it take to accelerate a step-change in sustainability for water, energy and food?.
Publications by year
In Press
Soutar I (In Press). Soutar I, Devine-Wright P, Rohse M, Walker C, Gooding L, Devine-Wright H, Kay I (2022). Submission of Paper to Energy Policy: “Constructing Practices of Engagement with Users and Communities: Comparing Emergent State-Led Smart Local Energy Systems”. .
2023
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P, Rohse M, Walker C, Gooding L, Devine-Wright H, Kay I (2023). Constructing practices of engagement with users and communities: Comparing emergent state-led smart local energy systems. Energy Policy, 171, 113279-113279.
2022
Pownall T (2022). Electricity market re-design in Great Britain: a proposed new design and lessons on implementation.
Abstract:
Electricity market re-design in Great Britain: a proposed new design and lessons on implementation
Implementing electricity market re-design within Great Britain is required to facilitate the goal of a net zero electricity system. The electricity market design as an institution determines the services which can access value and therefore the rules embedded within the design are an important influence on future investment decisions as well as current energy economics. A continuation of the current rules which reflect an outdated paradigm based upon large-scale, centralised, and predominantly fossil fuel thermal generating units hinders the UK’s policy objective of a net zero power sector by 2035. Therefore, electricity market re-design is essential to bring forward investment into the technologies, new modes of operation and user practices which are aligned with net zero ambitions.
Whilst multiple proposals for changes to the existing design exist, these focus on addressing particular aspects of the electricity market design and do not provide the holistic blueprint required by policymakers, nor do these offer guidance on the process of implementation.
To address this gap, the technique of modularisation was employed to identify where alterations to Great Britain’s electricity market design were required. Where issues had been identified, alternative arrangements were sourced from an extensive literature review of 49 papers with proposals for electricity market reform. This led to the creation of a strawperson proposal which was appraised and validated through 41 expert semi-structured interviews, presented at national and international conferences and through the process of academic peer-review. The proposed design provides a blueprint for policymakers which is an augmentation of the current design, aligned to net zero and addresses the issues identified with the current institutional setup.
Lessons on implementation were gathered from an additional literature review and insights from the same semi-structured interviews. This led to several key findings. First, there is widespread support for electricity market re-design across the majority of interviewees and within the literature. Second, divergences emerged in how electricity market re-design should proceed; via small-scale incremental changes or a largescale implementation akin to the New Electricity Trading Arrangements. This thesis argues for the latter. Compounding these debates on implementation is the increased diversity of market participants who offer innovations in how the institution operates, but only if
4
their ideas are listened to, which under current framings will be difficult due to the scale of regime resistance.
The implications of this research provides policymakers, regulators and fellow actors involved within the field of electricity market design with a case for change and an appraised, holistic blueprint design and lessons on implementation.
Abstract.
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Soutar I (2022). Energy democracy: a digital future?.
Energy Research and Social Science,
91 (September 2022)Abstract:
Energy democracy: a digital future?
Academic exploration of energy democracy has produced a rich theorization of its foundations that exhibits significant pluralism in response to different geographic, social, ideological and technical contexts. This paper develops the literature by considering how sociotechnical transitions associated with energy system digitalization may affect the theory and praxis of energy democracy. Our analysis draws on three dimensions of energy democracy: popular sovereignty, participatory governance, and civic ownership. Digitalization is shown to both present challenges and new avenues for the exercise and study of energy democracy. Firstly, digitalization simultaneously enables and constrains the exercise of popular sovereignty by diversifying energy citizen roles and complicating accountability. Secondly, digitalization creates new dimensions of risk around skills, knowledge and resource access, which can exclude citizens from participatory governance. Thirdly, digitalization challenges common conceptions of civic ownership by introducing new material-software dependencies and re-defining the assets that underpin the energy system. Finally, digitalization fundamentally changes the nature of decision-making, potentially undermining current understandings of the concept and its democratic function. Further exploration of ‘digital energy democracy’ would hold value for research and practice in the sector.
Abstract.
McKenna R, Mulalic I, Soutar I, Weinand JM, Price J, Petrović S, Mainzer K (2022). Exploring trade-offs between landscape impact, land use and resource quality for onshore variable renewable energy: an application to Great Britain. Energy, 250, 123754-123754.
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). How can Smart Local Energy Systems projects and policies engage more effectively with the public?.
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). How do Smart Local Energy System projects understand and engage with publics?. Iain Soutar. 20th - 23rd Jun 2022.
Soutar I, Devine-Wright P (2022). Submission to the Net Zero Review Call for Evidence, Oct 2022.
2021
Poulter H (2021). Adaptive Governance for Energy System Decentralisation: a case study of the National Electricity Market in Eastern Australia.
Abstract:
Adaptive Governance for Energy System Decentralisation: a case study of the National Electricity Market in Eastern Australia
This thesis investigates how the role of an adaptive governance framework, adapted from social-ecological transition (SET) theory, could assist in the challenges associated with electricity system decarbonisation and decentralisation through a case study of the National Electricity Market (NEM) in eastern Australia. The NEM is currently undergoing change at the household, distribution and system level due to the rapid uptake of solar PV and increasingly, domestic battery storage. By using a case study of an area where rapid change is happening, the thesis offers insights in the form of a general framework for adaptive governance that could assist policymakers in meeting decarbonisation targets in Great Britain.
SET theory suggests that adaptive governance is needed within social-ecological systems (SES) to manage the transformation of a system that is locked-in to an undesirable state. Adaptive governance is achieved by the empowerment of local actors to create local policy, thereby increasing the innovation potential of the local areas to meet the local policy strategy. Policy and innovation are then coordinated to meet an overarching national vision.
The NEM is currently experiencing a form of carbon lock-in. While the federal system of government has allowed State initiatives to incentivise the use of DER, a lack of a national vision and coordination of State policy and the innovations stemming from these policies has created challenges in maintaining the functionality of the electricity system. Taking lessons learnt from the NEM case study and SET theory, this thesis suggests an adaptive governance framework that could assist in electricity system decentralisation, through the empowerment of local policy which is coordinated to meet a national vision.
This has lessons for GB, in particular, because GB has set a target for net-zero emissions by 2050. Reaching this target requires increasing the use of distributed energy resources (DER). Enabling decentralisation to work in conjunction with the traditional centralised system requires new rules, new regulations, new markets and new institutions. Taking lessons learnt from an energy system that has already undergone this type of change, an alternative approach for GB policymakers is suggested that may assist with the challenge of enabling decentralisation in the GB energy system.
Abstract.
Soutar I (2021). Dancing with complexity: Making sense of decarbonisation, decentralisation, digitalisation and democratisation. Energy Research & Social Science, 80, 102230-102230.
Judson E, Soutar I, Fitch-Roy O (2021). Energy democracy: a digital future?. Joint Annual Conference of the Science, Technology and Society Unit - Graz University of Technology, the Inter-Disciplinary Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture (IFZ) and the Institute of Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society (IAS-STS). 3rd - 5th May 2021.
McKenna R, Mulalic I, Soutar I, Weinand JM, Price J, Petrovic S, Mainzer K (2021). Exploring trade-offs between landscape impact, land use and resource. quality for onshore variable renewable energy: an application to Great. Britain.
Pownall T, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2021). Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources.
Energies,
14(4), 1124-1124.
Abstract:
Re-Designing GB’s Electricity Market Design: a Conceptual Framework Which Recognises the Value of Distributed Energy Resources
The design of electricity markets determines the technologies, services and modes of operation that can access value, consequently shaping current and future electricity landscapes. This paper highlights that the efficacy of Great Britain’s electricity market design in facilitating net zero is inadequate and must be reconfigured. The rules of the current electricity market design are remnants of an electricity sector dominated by large-scale, centralised, fossil fuel technologies. Therefore, routes to market for the provision of necessary services to support net zero, not least flexibility, are largely inaccessible for distributed energy resources and, despite their benefits to the system, are thus undervalued. Based upon a review and consolidation of 30 proposed electricity market designs from liberalised electricity sectors, this paper proposes a new electricity market design for Great Britain. This design is presented alongside a new institutional framework to aid in the efficient operation of the market. Specifically, this paper proposes a new local balancing and coordinating market located at each grid supply point (the transmission and distribution interface). This is realised through the implementation of a distributed locational marginal pricing structure which is governed by the evolution of the current distributed network operator, known as the distributed service provider (DSP). The DSP also operates a local balancing and ancillary market for their geographical area. The wholesale market is reconfigured to coordinate with these new local markets and to harmonise the actors across the distribution and transmission network.
Abstract.
Suckling J, Hoolohan C, Soutar I, Druckman A (2021). Unintended Consequences: Unknowable and Unavoidable, or Knowable and Unforgivable?.
Frontiers in Climate,
3Abstract:
Unintended Consequences: Unknowable and Unavoidable, or Knowable and Unforgivable?
Recognizing that there are multiple environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate, it is essential that potential negative outcomes of seemingly positive actions are accounted for. This alertness to unintended consequences underscores the importance of so called “nexus” research, which recognizes the integrated and interactive nature of water, energy and food systems, and aims to understand the broader implications of developments in any one of these systems. This article presents a novel framework for categorizing such detrimental unintended consequences, based upon how much is known about the system in question and the scope for avoiding any such unintended consequences. The framework comprises four categories (Knowable and Avoidable; Knowable and Unavoidable; Unknowable and Avoidable, and Unknowable and Unavoidable). The categories are explored with reference to examples in both the water-energy-food nexus and planetary boundary frameworks. The examples highlight the potential for the unexpected to happen and explore dynamic nature of the situations that give rise to the unexpected. The article concludes with guidance on how the framework can be used to increase confidence that best efforts have been made to navigate our way toward secure and sustainable water, energy and food systems, avoiding and/or managing unintended consequences along the way.
Abstract.
2020
Judson E, Soutar I, Mitchell C (2020).
Governance Challenges Emerging from Energy Digitalisation. EPG Discussion Paper: EPG2002. Author URL.
2019
Soutar I (2019). Emergence and control in UK energy system democratisation. in Search of Good Energy Policy.
Larkin A, Abdel-Aal M, Druckman A, Falconer R, Forbes P, Hoolohan C, Lumbroso D, McLachlan C, Scott M, Shu Q, et al (2019). Stepping up. What will it take to accelerate a step-change in sustainability for water, energy and food?.
Hoolohan C, Soutar I, Suckling J, Druckman A, Larkin A, McLachlan C (2019). Stepping-up innovations in the water–energy–food nexus: a case study of anaerobic digestion in the UK.
Geographical Journal,
185(4), 391-405.
Abstract:
Stepping-up innovations in the water–energy–food nexus: a case study of anaerobic digestion in the UK
Grand societal challenges such as climate change, poverty and biodiversity loss call for rapid and radical changes to systems of production and consumption. Consequently, there is a growing interest in the dynamics of innovation, both social and technical, to accelerate innovation diffusion so as to increase the possibility of a step-change or large-scale transition. Research on the water–energy–food nexus adds an additional dimension to existing discussions, calling for transitions that recognise the sustainability challenges facing three major resource domains, and the synergies and tensions involved in their management. This paper examines anaerobic digestion (AD) – an example of innovation with potential benefits across the water–energy–food nexus – to understand the conditions that influence the rate of AD implementation and the achievement of its potential multi-sectoral benefits across the water–energy–food nexus. Interview data regarding 15 AD plants are examined alongside complementary data from interviews and workshops using the Technological Innovation Systems framework. This framework provides an analytical structure through which the processes that enable and constrain the implementation of AD in the UK can be examined, enabling the identification of potential mechanisms to support AD's wider and more effective deployment. The findings call for recognition of the unintended consequences of sectoral support mechanisms for technological adaptation, and consequent performance of AD in other resource domains and call for greater integration between policy mechanisms to enable AD to perform across the nexus. They also highlight a need to assimilate knowledge from multiple sources (including site-specific understanding gained from experimentation) to enhance the base on which policy and decision-making occurs. These findings contribute to existing literature on sustainable transitions by examining the complexities of multi-sectoral resource management in the context of nexus research.
Abstract.
Judson E, Fitch-Roy O, Pownall T, Bray R, Poulter H, Soutar I, Lowes R, Connor P, Britton J, Woodman B, et al (2019). The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
118Abstract:
The centre cannot (always) hold: examining pathways towards energy system de-centralisation
'Energy decentralisation' means many things to many people. Among the confusion of definitions and practices that may be characterised as decentralisation, three broad causal narratives are commonly (implicitly or explicitly) invoked. These narratives imply that the process of decentralisation: i) will result in appropriate changes to rules and institutions, ii) will be more democratic and iii) is directly and causally linked to energy system decarbonisation. The principal aim of this paper is to critically examine these narratives. By conceptualising energy decentralisation as a distinct class of sociotechnical transition pathway, we present a comparative analysis of energy decentralisation in Cornwall, South West UK, the French island of Ushant and the National Electricity Market in Australia. We show that, while energy decentralisation is often strongly correlated with institutional change, increasing citizen agency in the energy system, and enhanced environmental performance, these trends cannot be assumed as given. Indeed, some decentralisation pathways may entrench incumbent actors' interests or block rapid decarbonisation. In particular, we show how institutional context is a key determinant of the link between energy decentralisation and normative goals such as democratisation and decarbonisation. While institutional theory suggests that changes in rules and institutions are often incremental and path-dependent, the dense legal and regulatory arrangements that develop around the electricity sector seem particularly resistant to adaptive change. Consequently, policymakers seeking to pursue normative goals such as democratisation or decarbonisation through energy decentralisation need to look beyond technology towards the rules, norms and laws that constitute the energy governance system.
Abstract.
2018
Soutar I (2018). Community Energy as a site for Social Innovation. In Backhaus J, Genus A, Lorek S, Vadovics E, Wittmayer J (Eds.) Social Innovation and Sustainable Consumption: Research and Action for Societal Transformation.
Soutar I (2018). Energy System Change: Insights for the Circular Economy?. Circular Economy Disruptions: Past, Present and Future. 8th - 10th Jun 2018.
Author URL.
Hoolohan C, Larkin A, McLachlan C, Falconer R, Soutar I, Suckling J, Varga L, Haltas I, Druckman A, Lumbroso D, et al (2018). Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges.
Sustainability Science,
13(5), 1415-1426.
Abstract:
Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges
The water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become a popular, and potentially powerful, frame through which to analyse interactions and interdependencies between these three systems. Though the case for transdisciplinary research in this space has been made, the extent of stakeholder engagement in research remains limited with stakeholders most commonly incorporated in research as end-users. Yet, stakeholders interact with nexus issues in a variety of ways, consequently there is much that collaboration might offer to develop nexus research and enhance its application. This paper outlines four aspects of nexus research and considers the value and potential challenges for transdisciplinary research in each. We focus on assessing and visualising nexus systems; understanding governance and capacity building; the importance of scale; and the implications of future change. The paper then proceeds to describe a novel mixed-method study that deeply integrates stakeholder knowledge with insights from multiple disciplines. We argue that mixed-method research designs—in this case orientated around a number of cases studies—are best suited to understanding and addressing real-world nexus challenges, with their inevitable complex, non-linear system characteristics. Moreover, integrating multiple forms of knowledge in the manner described in this paper enables research to assess the potential for, and processes of, scaling-up innovations in the nexus space, to contribute insights to policy and decision making.
Abstract.
Soutar I (2018). Understanding innovation at the Water-Energy-Food nexus. 9th International Sustainability Transitions Conference. 12th - 14th Jun 2018.
2017
Haltas I, Suckling J, Soutar I, Druckman A, Varga L (2017). Anaerobic digestion: a prime solution for water, energy and food nexus challenges.
Abstract:
Anaerobic digestion: a prime solution for water, energy and food nexus challenges
Abstract.
Soutar I (2017). Balancing diversity and coherence in innovation space-making at the water-energy-food nexus. Energy-water-climate change nexus (EWCN) in a transitional economy: sustainability and resilience. 22nd - 26th May 2017.
Soutar I (2017). Conditions for transformation in the water-energy-food nexus. Transformations 2017: Transformations in Practice. 30th Aug - 1st Sep 2017.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2017). Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system. AAG Annual Meeting.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2017). Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system.
Energy Research and Social Science,
35, 132-139.
Abstract:
Towards pragmatic narratives of societal engagement in the UK energy system
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Issues of societal engagement in the energy system pervade both the study and the doing of energy policy. In both realms, narratives as persuasive ‘vehicles of meaning’ help us both to make sense of society's role in past and current energy systems, and shape these roles in future energy systems. However, our eagerness to simplify complex histories and unwritten futures means that the narratives we create are often reliant on assumptions. This has implications for the degree to which narratives can find pragmatism, and thus be valuable, to a wide range of stakeholders. Drawing both on historic accounts of societal engagement in energy systems alongside emerging discourses around future energy systems, this paper offers several points of caution for the use of narratives of engagement. In terms of historic narratives, these relate to hindsight bias, predictability, and normative positioning, the combination of which depict histories of engagement as retrospectively obvious, and falsely suggest a controllability of past events. In terms of forward-looking narratives, while optimism and ambiguity play key roles in garnering interest in visions among stakeholders, they also mean that narratives vary in their relevance, and thus value to, different stakeholders. Fundamentally, narratives must find legitimacy in the actors they purport to recruit, and must thus simultaneously attend to regulative, normative and cognitive aspects of energy system engagement.
Abstract.
2016
Soutar I (2016). From local to global value: the transformational nature of community energy.
Abstract:
From local to global value: the transformational nature of community energy
The UK energy system has in the past been characterised by the ownership and control of large-scale supply technologies by corporate entities. It has become apparent however that such structures are ill suited to addressing contemporary energy challenges of decarbonisation, energy security and affordability. Moreover, their resistance to change means that the current system is fundamentally inconsistent with the need for energy system change.
the advent of affordable renewable energy however, particularly at small-scale, offers new prospects for addressing these energy challenges. In particular, they present an opportunity for greater societal engagement in the energy system, not least as owners and managers of energy assets, but also as stakeholders with interest and influence in the energy system more generally. Within the context of greater citizen engagement in energy, community energy has developed in the UK as an organised means for “collective action to purchase, manage and generate energy” (DECC, 2014b). Such collective action is complimented by progressively broad engagement by individuals in the energy system as investors and prosumers, rather than solely consumers. This thesis responds to a need to better understand the role and value of community energy, and wider societal engagement more generally, within the wider energy system.
Taking a mixed-methods approach, this thesis contends that community energy has the potential to have significant impacts at both local and national scales. Social, economic and environmental impacts of a specific community energy project are evidenced to illustrate the breadth and scale of potential impacts at the local level. Broader analysis of the community energy movement, and of ‘small-scale energy’ more generally is suggestive of the potential for such approaches to be transformative in terms of overcoming system inertia. In particular, the energy system is undergoing a process of democratisation, whereby power, wealth and value is gradually distributed among society. A key role for policymakers then is to consider the strategic importance of democratisation.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Soutar I, Mitchell C (2016). Grappling with Wickedness: the articulation of WEF nexus governance in the UK. RGS Annual Conference.
2015
Soutar I (2015). The role of social capital in energy systems transformation: Insights from community energy. SCORAI workshop: ‘Beyond’ Transition? Understanding & Achieving Sustainable Consumption through Social Innovation.
Abstract:
The role of social capital in energy systems transformation: Insights from community energy
Abstract.
Author URL.
Soutar I (2015). The use (and abuse?) of evidence in the development of the UK Community Energy Strategy. the interface between sustainability research and policy. 26th - 27th Jan 2015.
2014
Soutar I (2014). Is small-scale beautiful (and how beautiful?): Understanding the role of community energy within the wider UK energy system. Earth Systems Governance.
2013
Britton J, Soutar I (2013). Energy Security Policy in Britain: Markets, Complexity and Challenges. In Mitchell C, Watson J, Britton J (Eds.)
New Challenges in Energy Security the UK in a Multipolar World, Palgrave Macmillan, 68-91.
Abstract:
Energy Security Policy in Britain: Markets, Complexity and Challenges
Abstract.
Soutar I, Whiting J (2013). Energy security policy in Britain: Markets, complexity and challenges. In Mitchell C, Watson J, Whiting J (Eds.) New Challenges in Energy Security: the UK in a Multipolar World, London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Soutar I (2013). What role for small-scale energy? Understanding the value of challenging large-scale lock-in. Facing the Future Symposium. 10th - 12th Apr 2013.
2006
Rowan JS, Carwardine J, Duck RW, Bragg OM, Black AR, Cutler MEJ, Soutar I, Boon PJ (2006). Development of a technique for Lake Habitat Survey (LHS) with applications for the European Union Water Framework Directive. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 16(6), 637-657.
Rowan JS, Soutar I, Phillips GE (2006). Morphometric analysis of UK lake systems as a compliance tool for the European Water Framework Directive.
Author URL.
