Ireland’s Transition towards a Low Carbon Society: The Leadership Role of Higher Education Institutions in Solar Photovoltaic Niche Development
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Integrated Approaches Surrounding Sustainability Transitions at HEIs
2.1.1. Quantitative Systems Analysis
2.1.2. Sociotechnical Analysis
- Predevelopment phase: there is very little visible change on the societal level but experimentation is occurring.
- Take-off phase: the process of change commences, and the state of the system begins to shift.
- Acceleration phase: structural changes take place in a visible way through an accumulation of socio-cultural, economic, ecological, and institutional changes that interact with one another during this phase; there are collective-learning, diffusion, and embedding processes.
- Stabilisation phase: the speed of societal change decreases, and a new dynamic equilibrium is reached.
2.1.3. Living Lab Perspective
2.1.4. Configuration of HEADS Approach
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Case Study—Transition towards Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Generation
3.1.1. Quantitative Systems Analysis—PV
3.1.2. Sociotechnical Analysis—PV
3.1.3. Living Lab—PV
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Source | Document | Projections |
---|---|---|
Eirgrid [6] | Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios 2017 | 200-2500 MW by 2030 |
PwC [44] | Transitioning to a Low Carbon Energy System | 2GW by 2050 |
KPMG [45] | A Brighter Future: The Potential Benefits of Solar PV in Ireland | 100 MW-5.1 GW by 2030 |
Deane et al. [46] | Low Carbon Energy Roadmap for Ireland | 4 GW by 2050 |
Size of Installation | HEI | Mechanism for Operation | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 510 kW roof mounted | Birkenfeld Umwelt, Germany (Site Visit) | Testing different PV panels on-site |
2 | 1 MW ground mounted | Cranfield University, England [59] | Funded by revolving green fund for HEI sector |
3 | 2.1 MW roof mounted | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland [60] | Power purchase agreement |
4 | 865 kW roof mounted | University of Sussex, England [61] | Power purchase agreement |
5 | 5 MW Rooftop mounted | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore [62] | Funded by university |
6 | >100 MW roof mounted | 61 United States of America Universities [58] | Power purchase agreement |
7 | 29.6 kW roof mounted | School of Oriental and African Studies, Singapore [63] | Student led initiative |
8 | 6 kW roof mounted | Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Ireland (Site Visit) | Testing different PV panels on-site |
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Horan, W.; Shawe, R.; O’Regan, B. Ireland’s Transition towards a Low Carbon Society: The Leadership Role of Higher Education Institutions in Solar Photovoltaic Niche Development. Sustainability 2019, 11, 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030558
Horan W, Shawe R, O’Regan B. Ireland’s Transition towards a Low Carbon Society: The Leadership Role of Higher Education Institutions in Solar Photovoltaic Niche Development. Sustainability. 2019; 11(3):558. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030558
Chicago/Turabian StyleHoran, William, Rachel Shawe, and Bernadette O’Regan. 2019. "Ireland’s Transition towards a Low Carbon Society: The Leadership Role of Higher Education Institutions in Solar Photovoltaic Niche Development" Sustainability 11, no. 3: 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030558
APA StyleHoran, W., Shawe, R., & O’Regan, B. (2019). Ireland’s Transition towards a Low Carbon Society: The Leadership Role of Higher Education Institutions in Solar Photovoltaic Niche Development. Sustainability, 11(3), 558. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030558