Smart Grids Messy Society
Project Workshop
In July 2019 a workshop on 'The Social Science of Smart Grids' was hosted at the University of Tasmania, attended by a mixed group of approximately thirty academics and practitioners. Many thanks to everyone who took part in what was a lively and interesting day.
The workshop aims and objectives were:
- To consider the role of social science in a field traditionally dominated by other disciplines, such as engineering, economics, and computer science;
- To evaluate the contribution to date of social science in developing our understanding of smart grids, and to identify any gaps in understanding;
- To further develop dialogue and knowledge exchange between social science academics and practitioners working on smart grids in Australia.
The workshop was structured as follows:
SESSION 1 – THE GOVERNANCE OF SMART GRIDS
- Sangeetha Chandra-Shekeran - Trust as Social Infrastructure for Smart Grid Futures (20mins)
- Jathan Sadowski* & Anthony M. Levenda - The Anti-Politics of Smart Energy Regimes (20mins)
- DISCUSSION (20mins)
SESSION 2 – EXPLORING POSSIBLE RESPONSES TO SMART GRIDS
- Yolande Strengers*, Larissa Nicholls, Andrew Glover, Paula Arcari & Rex Martin - Engaging households towards the Future Grid: A strategy for the sector (20mins)
- Heather Lovell* & Phillipa Watson - Scarce Data: off-grid households in Australia (20mins)
- DISCUSSION (20mins)
1230-1330 LUNCH
SESSION 3 – HOUSEHOLD FRAMINGS OF SMART GRIDS
- Hedda Ransan-Cooper*, Phillipa Watson, Heather Lovell, Veryan Hann, Andrew Harwood - Are we connected? Householders’ emotional engagement with solar and battery storage in the home (20mins)
- Andrew Glover*, Yolande Strengers, Larissa Nicholls, Paula Arcari, Rex Martin - Peer-to-peer electricity trading: new opportunities for local and care-based energy provision (20mins)
- DISCUSSION (20mins)
SESSION 4 – STAKEHOLDER PANEL
Reflections on the papers, identifying industry and government research needs
- Matthew Armitage, Australian Energy Market Operator
- Lynne Gallagher, Energy Consumers Australia
- Sue Morrison, Tasmanian Department of State Growth
- Andrew Fraser, NAC Commercialisation
SESSION 5 – CONCLUSIONS & NEXT STEPS
Defining a research agenda for the social science of smart grids.