Energy Policy Pivots

The University of Exeter Energy Policy Group is the home of the new series of Palgrave Pivots on Progressive Energy Policy. Pivots are 25,000 to 50,000 words in length and can be single or multi-authored. Applications from all disciplines are welcomed provided proposals are relevant to multiple parts of the energy system and about processes of change towards a sustainable economy. The pivots can be single or multi-authored but not edited.

In brief we are seeking pivots that are:

• important to understanding the role of energy policy within processes of sustainable and equitable energy transitions.
• pivotal in nature, i.e. pivots should seek to be visionary, challenging conventional wisdom and/or arguing for new and innovative ways of understanding and engaging with energy policy.
• theoretically informed but firmly evidence-based seeking to link theory and policy to outcomes and practices.
• capable of investigating energy policy within broader political, social and economic contexts.

Progressive Energy Policy Series

Pivots should be relevant to the transition from the current non-sustainable, fossil fuel based energy system to an environmentally sustainable, equitable, low carbon system. We are interested in this at all levels of governance including domestic, regional, international as well as inter- and intra-regional studies. We are also interested in the links between energy transition and economic growth within the context of creating and maintaining a broadly sustainable economy as well as interactions between energy, climate, development, economic and security policy.

This brief for the energy policy pivots would mean that we are not interested in general descriptions of policies but we are interested in what is behind a policy and its outcomes. For example, interactions between stakeholders, power relations and interests that precede the policy and illuminate how it came it came into being; why the specifics of the institutions, design, rules and incentives are as they are; how it then interacts in practice with other energy policy objectives as well as with other policy areas of the country, region or locale; how the policy impacts on stakeholders, such as business costs and practices, and consumers. We are also interested in the development of a theory of transition related to practice.

This means we are focussed on energy systems not stand alone issues; inter-connections within and between systems and on analyses that move beyond description to evaluate and unpack energy governance systems and decisions. As an example,  we would be interested in an analysis of PV policy in Spain if it assessed how this policy fitted within (or not) the wider energy policy and the transformation of the Spanish energy system to a sustainable one; what the political discussions behind the policies had been (i.e. how the level of payments or change of rules which had taken place were agreed; what, who and how actors were involved in these discussions; and which and how actors were excluded from such discussions); what the implications of the policy change are/were for the energy system, for distributional impacts on customers; and whether or not the impacts fit with wider goals towards a sustainable economy. What we would not be interested in is a straight description of solar policy in Spain, without reference to how it fitted in elsewhere, how it came into being or what its consequences were .

Choice of topic for pivots is open to anywhere in the world provided our focus above is met.

Application Process

To apply for a pivot, authors need to complete and submit an initial proposal (DOC)

For more information view the Progressive Energy Policy Pivots flyer (PDF) and the Palgrave summary on their Pivot series (PDF)