Taking energy democracy to the streets: Socio-technical learning, institutional dynamism, and integration in South African community energy projects

Abstract

Energy governance is at a critical juncture: facing unavoidable change and also potentially restructuring the energy regime towards greater social justice, equity, and innovation. Energy democracy is a novel form of energy governance and an emergent social movement; as a concept, it may prove to be instrumental for assessing socio-technical energy transition pathways towards the goals of democracy and decentralisation. This paper considers four possible energy transition pathways towards energy democracy by analysing two ‘socio-technical experiments’ in South Africa. These ‘experiments’ are both community-based renewable energy projects: a mini-grid pilot project by the state-owned energy utility (Lynedoch EcoVillage), and an off-grid solar utility using solar home systems by a social enterprise (the iShack project). Certain challenges were unique to each case – Lynedoch’s primarily related to system design, while iShack’s were the result of dynamic real-world conditions – yet both struggled with battery management systems, institutional disconnect, bureaucratic obstacles, and growing pains towards community cohesion. We argue for an expanded understanding of the four pathways to possible energy futures, taking into consideration the lessons and opportunities arising from these experiments, particularly regarding the advancement of technological innovation and the corresponding impacts at the neighbourhood level. Although the two socio-technical experiments discussed in this paper are micro-level interventions in South Africa, they contribute to the broader debate on sub-Saharan African energy democracy.