Geospatial regions have different requirements for energy development due to
variations in environmental, economic, social, and political constraints which
influence their energy demand profiles and generation capacities. These
constraints determine the policy, strategy, and implementation priorities for
sustainable energy consumption, generation, and distribution. This PhD research
project focuses on the role of interfaces between sustainable energy policy and
appropriate technology; and its iterative feedback loop mechanism to encourage
the implementation of sustainable energy systems in a vulnerable society.
As a novel contribution to knowledge and practice, this PhD work concludes that:
1. Establishing a local business case for indigenous, appropriate technology,
utilising a solid network which receives committed, political support, is an
effective intervention strategy to fast track the deployment of sustainable
energy systems, which breaks the cycle of vulnerability through social
transformation and community empowerment.
2. Being aware of their own Western-Educated-Industrialised-Rich-Democratic
(WEIRD) mindsets is a first step for knowledge exchange practitioners to
overcome cultural differences and to introduce the intervention strategy.
This was synthesised from the following new understandings which were
obtained as the outputs of this PhD research:
1. Re-interpretation of the theory of vulnerable societies in relation to sustainable
energy;
2. Re-interpretation of the theory of sustainable energy in relation to the
proposed fourth dimension of sustainability;
3. Re-interpretation on the theory of appropriate technology in relation to
technological independence and indigenous wisdom;
4. Novel conceptual model of a vulnerable society’s problem system;
5. Novel conceptual model of the interfaces between sustainable energy policy
and appropriate technology in vulnerable societies.
It is expected that the outcome of this PhD research can bridge the gaps
identified in theoretical sustainable energy policies whilst in practice provide
sound advice and confidence for policy makers and initiative implementers in
grounding equal access to energy as a fundamental agent of change towards
sustainable societal development