Improving the social acceptability of microgrids

he smart grid will have to occupy a prominent place in people's lives in the years to come, as the renewable energy mix desired by all governments implies a change of role from consumer to prosumer (contraction of the consumer to producer) of electricity. The adoption of micro smart grid technology, which links solar panels, batteries, and inverters to smart meters and power regulation algorithms, by a community (e.g., a residential sector), cannot be done automatically. This is what we studied in Switzerland, based on a qualitative survey (12 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus groups) to understand the psychological and social barriers, which prevent people from integrating such a technology. The results show that restraining forces are more important than driving forces and therefore that governments need to tackle the problem of social acceptance of smart grids before focusing on mainly technological aspects in their long-term energy and environmental policies

Fostering “Energy Communities” ::an ethnographic-SECI approach to user-centered residential micro-smart grid adoption

This paper presents a user-centered approach to understanding the social context of smart residential microgrid adoption, with a focus on the SECI (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization) model of knowledge creation. The objective is to identify the social characteristics that contribute to the social acceptance of smart residential microgrids, particularly from the perspective of prosumers interacting with AI. The study focuses on 12 Swiss smart grid stakeholders, including those who live in eco- neighborhoods, and own solar panels, plus three focus groups with experts. The study found that trust, community, and shared values are key social factors influencing the adoption of residential smart microgrids. Results also show how the SECI model could facilitate the creation and sharing of knowledge about energy management and sustainability practices, knowing that smart grids rely primarily on AI or explicit knowledge (Combination) and that successful implementation should as well, regarding this theory, focus on tacit knowledge (Socialization)

Factors determining the dynamics of toxic blooms of Alexandrium minutum during a 10-year study along the shallow southwestern Mediterranean coasts

International audienceMany blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum have been recorded since 1990 in the Gulf of Gabes (southwestern Mediterranean Sea). To understand the determining factors of bloom formation, we studied the distribution of A. minutum in relation to environmental factors in samples taken at shallow sandy (<1 m) beach stations and a lagoon between 1997 and 2006. This was accompanied by laboratory experiments to identify A. minutum. The species forms harmful algal blooms (HABs) in stations subjected to anthropogenic eutrophication and in confined lagoons, living under conditions of varying salinity which gives it a unique opportunity to broaden its physiological tolerance and increase its colonisation potential. Increases in phosphorus appear to be more important than nitrogen or temperature in the control of A. minutum. The stations sampled all along the coast present specific hydrographic properties (shallowness, turbulence) suggesting that factors other than temperature and nutrients influence Alexandrium distribution, the exception being Boughrara Lagoon where the species developed in accordance with published data. Our findings and their interpretations indicate that the mechanism of the sudden A. minutum blooms along the nearshore of the Gulf of Gabes was complex and differed from that of true coastal ecosystems