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Energy-security conceptions in the Arctic region

Current climate change is opening up the Arctic region, not only in physical terms, as ice melts and former solid frozen ocean becomes penetrable for transport and resource extraction, but also in terms of opening up to global concerns as a contested political space: geopolitical issues that used to define the Arctic has become more complicated. It is challenging for the current cooperation in the

What characterizes a system builder? The role of local energy companies in energy system transformation

This article focuses on the development of sustainable energy systems in the Swedish local context and, specifically, on the actors that have proved to be crucial for such transitions: municipally owned energy companies. With the theoretical lens inspired by LTS's (large technical systems), the concept of the system builder was analyzed for the purpose of further understanding what characterizes t

Understanding energy efficiency in Swedish residential building renovation : A practice theory approach

Examining renovation processes having reduced energy consumption as an explicit goal, this article considers how energy efficiency is made part of renovation processes, focusing on the planning and design phase. Interviews and participant observations of meetings have been conducted. Applying a framework developed in practice theory, we demonstrate the importance of understanding routines, technol

Sustainable energy and climate strategies : Lessons from planning processes in five municipalities

Swedish municipalities have traditionally had significant powers and played a major role in implementing national energy strategies. This paper describes the factors influencing development of municipal climate and energy plans in five Swedish municipalities and assesses the relevance and importance of these factors from theoretical and practical perspectives. The questions raised in the paper are

Who is behaving? Consequences for energy policy of concept confusion

Policies to reduce household energy use usually target the individual customer. This is probably one explanation for the limited effect of many information policies, because two concepts with different meanings are confused: individual and household. In most contexts, an individual stands for what s/he does, but in the policy context, an individual is taken to represent the entire household. This

Industrial energy management decision making for improved energy efficiency-strategic system perspectives and situated action in combination

Improved industrial energy efficiency is a cornerstone in climate change mitigation. Research results suggest that there is still major untapped potential for improved industrial energy efficiency. The major model used to explain the discrepancy between optimal level of energy efficiency and the current level is the barrier model, e.g., different barriers to energy efficiency inhibit adoption of c

Management and stakeholder participation in local strategic energy planning - Examples from Sweden

When it comes to improving energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, municipalities are important actors. The Swedish Energy Agency initiated a program called Sustainable Municipalities to support strategic energy activities at the local level. Participating municipalities were mandated to develop local energy and climate strategies. This study gives a general overview of how the 60 part

Photovoltaic self-consumption in buildings : A review

The interest in self-consumption of PV electricity from grid-connected residential systems is increasing among PV system owners and in the scientific community. Self-consumption can be defined as the share of the total PV production directly consumed by the PV system owner. With decreased subsidies for PV electricity in several countries, increased self-consumption could raise the profit of PV sys

The meanings of practices for energy consumption - A comparison of homes and workplaces

We examine how building and appliance technologies relate to their use by occupants through practices at home and at work. The aim is to analyse how practices are influenced by buildings and other technologies and by social requirements and to add to ongoing research on how to contribute to a transition to more sustainable everyday practices. Interview, quantitative and observational material are

Strategies and Implications for Network Participation in Regional Climate and Energy Planning

Regional climate and energy planning in Sweden has long been fairly weak. Starting in 2008, however, the regional administrative level was strengthened, when the County Administrative Boards (CABs) were commissioned to develop regional climate and energy strategies. Coordinating and involving various stakeholders in the strategy work was essential to the assignment. The process of developing these

Characterization of Starch Using Flow Field-Flow Fractionation Techniques

To improve the properties and functionality of starch, it is important to understand the physicochemical and structural characteristics as raw material, after being modified to increase its characteristics and/or during changes due to the processing conditions. For this reason, the objective of the present thesis is to improve the understanding of characteristics and molecular properties like mola

Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems : An interdisciplinary perspective on barriers, energy audits, energy management, policies, and programs

Industrial energy efficiency is one of the most important means of reducing the threat of increased global warming. Research however states that despite the existence of numerous technical energy efficiency measures, its deployment is hindered by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. The complexity of increasing energy efficiency in manufacturing industry calls for an interdiscip

The building process of single-family houses and the embeddedness (or disembeddedness) of energy

People building their own houses have, at least theoretically, substantial autonomy when choosing, for example, a heating system and windows. In this article, focus is on the process of building new single-family houses and how energy efficiency and energy-efficient technology are incorporated into the building process. The conclusions emphasize energy as only one factor in housing purchase decisi

Energy Efficiency in Tenant-Owners' Residences : The Process of Going from Objective to Implementation

This article focuses on how Sweden's largest tenant-owners' organization, HSB, deals with energy efficiency. The aim is to examine HSB's energy goals, how they are determined and how they should be implemented at four levels: the national association, the regional office, the local housing co-operatives and the tenant-owners. Representatives of all four levels were interviewed. Achieving energy go

Environmental consciousness

Achieving ambitious international energy-saving targets calls for more powerful instruments and will entail changes both in society as a whole and for individual actors. Besides developing increasingly efficient technology, the field of energy behaviour holds the greatest potential of energy conservation. This contribution considers households and how technology and design can support them in both

Natural resources and social visions for Greenland’s future

The Arctic is often perceived as the new resource frontier in a resource hungry world. Many actors both inside and outside the region are eager to know what opportunities lie under the ice, and many claim a say in the future development of the Arctic. In Greenland, a national economy based on natural resources will lessen the dependence on the former colonial power Denmark. Many consider this an i

Evidence for the homogeneous ferromagnetic phase in (Ga,Mn)(Bi,As) epitaxial layers from muon spin relaxation spectroscopy

Ferromagnetic semiconductor thin layers of the quaternary (Ga,Mn)(Bi,As) and reference, ternary (Ga,Mn)As compounds, epitaxially grown under either compressive or tensile strain, have been characterized from a perspective of structural and magnetization homogeneity. The quality and composition of the layers have been confirmed by secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). A thorough evaluation of the

Energy saving

In this article, we discuss how energy-efficient technology is adopted and domesticated in households. To reach the political goals on energy efficiency, both technological and behavioural changes are needed. We will discuss how new technology is integrated in families' everyday lives and which barriers and enablers arise in relation to technology diffusion. Energy saving issues are illustrated us