Technological Demonstration at the core of the Energy Transition
Résumé
Demonstration projects gather research and industry actors around projects and organizational settings–‘demonstrators’/‘demonstration projects’ and ‘demonstration programmes’–aimed at accelerating innovation. They are increasingly used in the conduct of contemporary energy transitions, especially in the European Union. This chapter addresses the democratic dimension of demonstration projects. Based on three cases of technological demonstration in the EU–CCS, smart grids, low carbon communities– it analyses the ways in which these demonstrations jointly construct their public, their object and the political principles that hold the two together. The analysis shows that there are significant democratic issues associated with these demonstrations. It suggests that we should analyse demonstration projects in relationship to their broader institutional environment and the social forces that challenge their ends.