Parameters for selecting the partners in locally owned renewable energy small-scale project for achieving energy security in Atlantic Canada

Abstract

Several countries throughout the world are pursuing energy security as a means of ensuring that their economies operate smoothly and that their citizens have access to appropriate, reliable, and economical supply of clean energy. Because most of the rural communities across the globe rely heavily on non-renewable sources for their domestic needs, hence there is a risk of energy insecurity and vulnerability. This research aims to define a set of parameters for a successful strategic alliance in ensuring energy security in the rural and remote communities of Atlantic Canada. This research was split into two halves. The first study focused on a literature review on strategic alliance measures for achieving energy security, item development, and factor structure exploration. For successful strategic alliance constructs on a sample of 98 small-scale energy project owners, followed by reliability and validity checks. Study 2 seeks to identify the correlation among the partner's characteristics, set of parameters, and alliance performance with the help of regression analysis. Based on data from locally owned renewable energy small-scale (LORESS) projects in Atlantic Canada, the study discovered a set of parameters for selecting the right partner for energy security. The study discovered that overall alliance performance is significantly correlated with a set of parameters including indigenous process know-how, marketing interest and prominence, efficiency for generating energy, technological know-how, and affordability. The research gives a multi-dimensional tool that can assist in building a successful strategic alliance for achieving energy security. Moreover, it can serve as an aid to the different stakeholders in gauging the success of any strategic alliance in the energy sector.