Papers by Kristin Linnerud
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Oct 1, 2022
Energy Policy, Aug 1, 2019
The distributed nature of many renewable energy technologies allows for new ownership models as w... more The distributed nature of many renewable energy technologies allows for new ownership models as well as frequent ownership changes. We analyse whether a change in ownership negatively affects community attitudes toward a hypothetical small-scale hydropower plant. We use a two-stage framing experiment and a student sample. We find that a change in ownership has a significant negative effect on their attitudes toward the project, irrespective of whether the change is from a national to a local owner or vice versa. We interpret this finding as an example of a status quo bias, that is, a preference for the current state of affairs. A status quo bias makes renewable energy transitions more challenging, at least initially. Over time, as the status quo shifts, this may become less of an issue. We conclude the paper by discussing the robustness of our findings as well as whether and how policymakers can reduce the impact of such cognitive biases.
Routledge eBooks, Sep 5, 2017
The United Nations sustainable development goals are under fire. By attempting to cover all that ... more The United Nations sustainable development goals are under fire. By attempting to cover all that is good and desirable in society, these targets have ended up as vague, weak, or meaningless. We suggest a model for sustainable development based on three moral imperatives: satisfying human needs, ensuring social equity, and respecting environmental limits. The model reflects Our Common Future's central message, moral imperatives laid out in philosophical texts on needs and equity, and recent scientific insights on environmental limits. The model is in conflict with the popular three-pillar model of sustainable development, which seeks to balance social, environmental, and economic targets. Rather, we argue that sustainable development constitutes a set of constraints on human behaviour, including constraints on economic activity. By identifying indicators, and thresholds, we illustrate that different regions or groups of countries face different challenges.
Oxford Open Energy
The growing attention to the political goal of achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century reflec... more The growing attention to the political goal of achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century reflects past failures to alter the trajectory of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a consequence, the world now needs to decarbonize all systems and sectors at an unprecedented pace. This commentary discusses how the net-zero challenge presents transition scholarship with four enhanced research challenges that merit more attention: (1) the speed, (2) breadth and (3) depth of transitions as well as (4) tensions and interactions between these.
Sustainability, Feb 26, 2020
Renewable energy plays an important role in the transition to a low emission society, yet in many... more Renewable energy plays an important role in the transition to a low emission society, yet in many regions energy projects have resulted in increasing societal polarization. Based on a comprehensive literature review and a survey among stakeholders from specific regions in Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Spain with little prior experience with wind energy, we highlight six categories of factors that shape community acceptance of onshore wind energy development: technical characteristics of wind energy projects, environmental impacts, economic impacts, societal impacts, contextual factors and individual characteristics. We identify key similarities in acceptance-related patterns of wind energy development across the selected regions, but also important differences, highlighting the very context-specific nature of community acceptance. The findings contribute to improving the understanding of the forces, factors and relationships at play between policy frameworks and perceptions of wind energy under different conditions. We conclude by proposing policy recommendations regarding measures to increase the positive impacts and reduce the negative impacts of wind energy projects, and to strengthen existing drivers and reduce barriers to community acceptance of wind energy development.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Apr 21, 2021
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation ... more This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 953040. The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the COME RES project and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
This paper examines the risk assessment procedure for a Nordic hydropower production process in t... more This paper examines the risk assessment procedure for a Nordic hydropower production process in the light of climate change. The case study research focused on hydropower plants in the Kemijoki region of northern Finland. This paper describes the development of the risk assessment framework and presents the tools developed during this process: the general risk assessment procedure, guidelines for gathering the background information, the seasonal plan, risk identification model and risk/opportunity table, and a method for risk estimation and evaluation. A generic model of the risk assessment procedure will initially be sought, for application within the Nordic countries. The study is a part of the Nordic Energy Research funded Climate and Energy Systems (CES) project.
What Next for Sustainable Development?, 2019
Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2019
What Next for Sustainable Development?
Based on panel data of 214 licenses to construct small hydropower plants, we examine whether unce... more Based on panel data of 214 licenses to construct small hydropower plants, we examine whether uncertainty with respect to the introduction of a market for renewable energy certificates affected the timing of investments in Norway from 2001 to 2010. Using regression analysis, we find that (1) investors owning a portfolio of licenses acted in accordance with a real options investment rule, and uncertain climate policy decisions delayed their investment rate; and (2) investors owning a single license acted in accordance with a traditional net present value investment rule, focusing on the value of the immediate investment and ignoring policy uncertainty.
Using real options theory and a multivariate discrete choice model, we investigate how investment... more Using real options theory and a multivariate discrete choice model, we investigate how investments in renewable electricity production are affected by climate policy uncertainty. More specifically, based on panel data of 214 licenses to construct small hydropower plants, we examine whether uncertainty with respect to the introduction of a market for green certificates has affected the timing of investments in small hydropower plants Norway from 2001 to 2010. We find that real options models, which translate uncertainty into investment risk, give better explanation of investors' behavior compared to traditional net present value analysis.
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Papers by Kristin Linnerud