Sustainable Energy Transitions: Exploring Low Carbon Solutions for Transportation and Electricity Production

This dissertation investigates three distinct yet related studies within the broader socio-technical transitions literature. Although scholars have recently moved towards an interdisciplinary approach to socio-technical transitions research, transitioning from one socio-technical system to another is inherently a geographic process. As such, this dissertation explores both the socio-technical transitions and geographic interactions occurring across multiple supply-side low-carbon technologies within the energy sector in addition to an emerging demand-side low-carbon technology within the transportation sector. Given that over two-thirds of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2019 resulted from two economic sectors, it is essential to consider multiple solutions for the most polluting sectors.
The second chapter of this dissertation provides an international comparison of offshore wind energy development across the North Atlantic region. I analyze how federal and regional plans for offshore wind energy in the United States brought to the surface decade-long tensions related to multi-scale governance mismatches, jurisdictional conflicts, and unclear pathways for implementing national industrial policies. Drawing upon the European experience through a dynamic multi-level perspective framework enriched by socio-ecological elements to examine the United States’ energy transition through its most promising technology.
The third chapter of this dissertation explores the various land use trade-offs associated with the ongoing energy transition, particularly with ground-mounted utility-scale solar energy. Although solar energy is a promising solution for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from within the electricity sector, it remains one of the technologies with a large land requirement and little attention paid to the impacts it may have on valuable ecosystems. In this chapter, I apply and link three distinct ecosystem models to estimate and evaluate ecosystem service trade-offs with solar energy development in Connecticut. More specifically, I developed a two-tiered suitability model to identify land parcels suitable for solar energy while constraining the model based on various environmental and energy policy factors.
Finally, in the fourth chapter of this dissertation, I explore the barriers and drivers of electric vehicle adoption in Connecticut between 2013 and 2020. Electric vehicles have emerged as a viable solution to decarbonizing light-duty passenger transportation within the past five years. However, it is critical to understand the sustainability of such a transition as it relates to mitigating the impacts of climate change. In addition to adoption, this chapter will explore replacement dynamics within the light-duty vehicle fleet by estimating tailpipe and upstream greenhouse gas emissions of the ten most common vehicles on the road in Connecticut. Findings from this chapter will assist policymakers in optimizing the deployment of incentive programs and infrastructures for supporting and increasing the pace of electric vehicle adoption.