Debating Low Carbon Economy within the Prosumers Communities
energy transition; sustainable energy transition, energy cultures; photovoltaics adoption dynamics; green growth discourse; right-wing populism; vernacular discourse
Energy and Sustainable Green Development > 1. Energy Policy Research
Abstract Accepted
Anna Olszewska / University of Science and Technology AGH
Paweł Mirowski / University of Science and Technology AGH； Faculty of Humanities
The proposed presentation contributes to observation and analysis of grass roots discourse to investigate the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. The presentation focuses on bringing together opinions and experiences of end-users and prosumers of energy systems and cross-references those with suppliers’ discourse and programs. The discussion relates to the debate on the character of energy transition running within the field of energy policy research. In the discussion we relate to perspectives of evolutionary versus transformational energy transition (L. Stegemann &, M. Ossewaarde (2018) J. Szarka (2016) P. Żuk and K. Szulecki (2020).
The study adds a new perspective to debates on green growth hegemonic discourse in politics and business and relates it to the populist discourse of the media. The body of reference material we draw upon has been collected within the energy landscape of Lesser Poland in 2021. It contains a limited number of 36 structured interviews complemented with surveys. The main case sample is complementary with source materials provided by the well-established line of prosumer studies and adoption studies covering various cultural milieus.
The presented analysis should explain that vernacular narratives which we have examined are characterized by a tendency to dispense with complex argumentative style typical of the mainstream social actors. We believe the study is relevant for energy practitioners and researchers interested in the social aspects of prosumerism. We believe that by focusing on potential points of conflict and highlighting the social demands of energy transition, the study can have profound societal benefit in the communication domain on energy transition.