The governance of energy transition in Brazil: a study of the participation of solar energy networks in the electric sector transition

• Grant number: 23/08664-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Jean Carlos Hochsprung Miguel
• Grantee: Jean Carlos Hochsprung Miguel
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the dynamics of transition towards sustainability in the Brazilian electric sector, with a focus on the participation and engagement of actors in the solar energy segment. It investigates the processes of sociotechnical regime transition and the formation of governance networks in this context, considering the interaction between technology and society. The concept of sociotechnical regime combines ideas from evolutionary economics with insights from the history and sociology of technology, highlighting the social incorporation of scientific knowledge, engineering practices, and process technologies. In the literature on sustainability transitions, there is a consensus that transformation and regime transition are neither linear nor teleological. Therefore, the governance of transition and the conflicting dynamics between technological change and society need to be understood as part of transition studies. The sociotechnical transition in the Brazilian electric sector involves various interests, actor alignment, and negotiation of conflicting objectives. The transformation of the electric system is socially and politically shaped, with goals such as supply security, regional self-sufficiency, economic supply, ecology, and sustainability. The chosen case study is the evolution of solar energy networks in Brazil, an expanding sustainable energy source that faces resistance from other actors in the electric sector vying for the future of the industry. This research seeks to explore the negotiations of these objectives and development pathways through qualitative methodologies in the Social Sciences. It is believed that analyzing governance, coalition formation, and objective definition in the energy sector debate arena can contribute to achieving energy sustainability goals. (AU)