1st Edition
Energy as a Sociotechnical Problem An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Control, Change, and Action in Energy Transitions
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
Biography
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.
"This book follows a promising approach in putting together various interdisciplinary and up-to-date perspectives on energy transitions in a structured way. It thereby provides interesting new insights for further understanding interrelations of circumstances and finding ways for handling the complexity of energy transitions within a socio-technical background." -- Bert Droste-Franke, Head of Energy Department, EA European Academy of Technology and Innovation Assessment GmbH, Germany
"This is a timely and ambitious collection of disciplinary perspectives on the rapidly accelerating shift towards energy transition. By framing the process as a "socio-technical problem", the authors provide an integrative view, which is direly needed to tackle the challenges of this real-world experiment." -- Bernhard Truffer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland, and Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
"You won’t find better proof of the value added by a truly interdisciplinary approach to key sociotechnical problems than this book. The last chapter summarizing and demonstrating the case for a more expansive, integrated thinking is the best introduction I know for more effectively addressing the energy transitions taking place across much of the world." -- Emery Roe, Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA
