Doctoral Dissertation Research: Renewable Energy Transition and Economic Growth

博士论文研究：可再生能源转型与经济增长

• 批准号: 2342813
• 负责人: Anne-Maria Makhulu
• 金额: $ 3.08万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-03-01 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2342813&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Renewable; Energy

State goals of high economic growth rely symbolically and materially on reliable electricity. However, in the context of climate change, states increasingly face pressure to transition to renewable sources of energy. This doctoral dissertation research focuses on the practices connecting solar energy to mass electricity grids. Examining solar energy transition as a social, technical, and material process, this project investigates how renewable energy transitions shape ideals of national development amidst concern over environmental change. The dissertation research project trains a graduate student in methods of scientific data collection and analysis and builds capacity for future scientific research at the site. Research findings are shared broadly with academic and non-academic audiences, including policy experts and solar energy stakeholders. To study the relationships between energy transition, economic growth, and environmental change, the researcher engages in behavioral methods such as participant observation among solar energy installers, developers, technicians, and consumers, as well as interviews with representative samples of these stakeholder populations. Researchers examine how these groups perceive, produce, and use solar energy in relation to the state and ideals of economic growth. In addition, researchers conduct semi-structured interviews with a sample of key informants in the solar energy industry and solar energy customers. Media analysis of news coverage of solar energy projects provides complementary data to contextualize the ethnographic research. The findings of this research contribute to debates in science and technology studies, environmental science, and the anthropology of the state.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

国家经济高速增长的目标象征性地和实质上依赖于可靠的电力。然而，在气候变化的背景下，各国越来越面临向可再生能源转型的压力。本博士论文研究重点关注将太阳能连接到大规模电网的实践。该项目将太阳能转型视为一个社会、技术和材料过程，研究可再生能源转型如何在关注环境变化的情况下塑造国家发展理想。该论文研究项目对研究生进行科学数据收集和分析方法的培训，并为现场未来的科学研究建立能力。研究结果与学术和非学术受众广泛分享，包括政策专家和太阳能利益相关者。为了研究能源转型、经济增长和环境变化之间的关系，研究人员采用了行为方法，例如太阳能安装商、开发商、技术人员和消费者的参与观察，以及对这些利益相关者群体的代表性样本的访谈。研究人员研究了这些群体如何看待、生产和使用太阳能与经济增长状况和理想的关系。此外，研究人员对太阳能行业和太阳能客户的关键知情人进行了半结构化访谈。对太阳能项目新闻报道的媒体分析为民族志研究提供了补充数据。这项研究的结果有助于科学技术研究、环境科学和国家人类学的辩论。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。