Methodology to identify demand-side low-carbon innovations and their potential impact on socio-technical energy systems

Christina E Hoicka; Runa R Das; Yuxu Zhao; Maria-Louise McMaster; Jenny Lieu; Susan Wyse

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2021.101295

Methodology to identify demand-side low-carbon innovations and their potential impact on socio-technical energy systems

MethodsX. 2021 Mar 4:8:101295. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101295. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Christina E Hoicka¹, Runa R Das², Yuxu Zhao¹, Maria-Louise McMaster¹, Jenny Lieu³, Susan Wyse¹

Affiliations

¹ York University, Environmental and Urban Change, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.
² Royal Roads University, Canada.
³ TU Delft, the Netherlands.

Abstract

The rapid diffusion of demand-side low-carbon innovations has been identified as a key strategy for maintaining average global temperature rise at or below 1.5 °C. Diffusion research tends to focus on a single sector, or single technology case study, and on a small scope of factors that influence innovation diffusion. This paper describes a novel methodology for identifying multiple demand-side innovations within a specific energy system context and for characterizing their impact on socio-technical energy systems. This research employs several theoretical frameworks that include the Energy Technology Innovation System (ETIS) framework to develop a sample of innovations; the Sustainability Transitions framework to code innovations for their potential to impact the socio-technical system; the energy justice framework to identify the potential of innovations to address aspects of justice; and how characteristics of innovations are relevant to Innovation Adoption. This coding and conceptualization creates the foundation for the future development of quantitative models to empirically assess and quantify the rate of low-carbon innovation diffusion as well as understanding the broader relationship between the diffusion of innovations and socio-technical system change. The three stages of research are:•Contextualization: surveys and desk research to identify low-carbon innovations across the ETIS;•Decontextualization: the development of a codebook of variables•Recontextualization: coding the innovations and analysis.

Keywords: Demand-side; Diffusion of innovations; Energy justice; Energy technology innovation system; Energy transition; Innovation adoption; Low-carbon innovations; Socio-technical systems; Survey; Sustainability transitions.