Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The photovoltaic installation process and the behaviour of photovoltaic producers in insular contexts: the French island example (Corsica, Reunion Island, Guadeloupe)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Energy Efficiency Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article presents and discusses the results of a study of small photovoltaic (PV) producers in the context of energy production on non-interconnected French islands (Corsica, Guadeloupe, Reunion Island). We analyse the propensity of islanders to install photovoltaic panels and to change their energy-consumption habits, i.e. to reduce their use of energy or to allow the electricity grid to manage their batteries. This meant interviewing them about their willingness to shift from the role of consumer to that of “prosumer”. The analysis is part of the sociotechnical approach which suggests that decentralised production encourages people to change their attitudes towards energy when they produce it themselves. It is based on interviews (47) and on questionnaires (142) submitted to PV producers who sell their entire production (full sale) or their surplus after self-consumption to Electricité de France (EDF) and who own a storage battery. We find that the interviewees’ representations of the electricity grid and locally used energies were marked by the insular nature of their land. Due to the power cuts and the voltage variations that they endure on a daily basis, the interviewees are fully aware of their island’s limited production capacity. The producers we met aspire to a level of comfort that conflicts with their awareness of the limits of the local production system. Our findings indicate that the fact of becoming a PV electricity producer is a response to a common desire for energy autonomy (in relation to fossil fuels, power cuts or electricity bills). This reaching for autonomy is not the same as a desire to break away from the electricity grid. It provides the opportunity to redefine the role of PV producers in tomorrow’s electricity system. This observation calls for comparative studies in order to determine whether these results are tied to insular contexts or if they can be extended elsewhere.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Corsica’s energy grid benefits from interconnections with Sardinia and Italy, which provide up to 30% of the island’s electricity.

  2. Article 10 of the law dated 10/02/2000, which includes the obligation of electricity distributors (EDF, Poweo, Enercoop, etc.) to buy the electricity produced. The contribution to the public electricity service (CSPE) owed by all electricity consumers on a pro rata basis relative to the number of kWh consumed makes it possible to finance the renewable energy thus produced, the extra costs of production in zones not connected to the mainland electricity grid, and the implementation of a special “essential product” tariff (TPN: tarif de première nécessité) (source: CRE –Commission de Régulation de l’Energie).

  3. European Commission, “Delivering a New Deal for Energy Consumers”, Brussels, 15/07/2015; Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions, Delivering a New Deal for Energy Consumers, European Commission, Brussels, 15.7.2015, COM(2015) 339 final.

  4. The empirical findings presented here are based on data produced through the EDF-R&D collaborative project (Millener) bringing together industrial partners and Ademe (Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maitrise de l’Energie). The analysis and readings set out in this paper are nevertheless the sole responsibility of the author.

  5. Between 1970 and 2010, the population almost doubled: from 450,000 inhabitants to over 828,000.

  6. These mechanisms were marketed by private companies as part of an experiment of limited duration. The difference in producer numbers per territory is therefore due to project planning constraints: installations were first deployed in Reunion Island, and at a later date in Guadeloupe and Corsica.

  7. Telephone survey with multiple choice questions.

  8. Class 1: total consumption between 1300 and 3300 W; class 2: total consumption between 1500 and 2500 W (on average an additional 300 W over the period 06:00–16:00 and a less marked peak in the evening than that of customers in class 1); class 3: total consumption between 1500 and 3500 W (biggest consumers in the panel).

  9. From 1970 to 2010, the population of Reunion Island virtually doubled, from 450,000 to just over 828,000 inhabitants.

References

  • Baggioni, V. (2014). Eviter la conflictualité des opérations d’aménagement: un savoir-faire des équipes-projets? Etude comparative de deux parcs solaires. Participations, 3(10), 121–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beillan, V., & Goater, A. (2013) Understanding household decisions to become electricity producers and their role in the future energy landscape: case studies in France with photovoltaïc electricity producers. ECEEE Summer Proceedings, 2211–2220.

  • Bénard-Sora, F., & Praene, J.-P. (2016). Territorial analysis of energy consumption of a small remote island: proposal for classification and highlighting consumption profiles. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, 636–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, N., & Eyre, N. (2011). What role for microgeneration in a shift to a low carbon domestic energy sector in the UK. Energy Efficiency, 4, 335–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beslay, C., & Gournet, R. (2011). Le consommateur d’énergie est-il plus économe lorsqu’il produit son énergie? ADEME & vous. Stratégie et Études, n°27, mars.

  • Boräng, F., Jagers, S. C., & Povitkina, M. (2016). Political determinants of electricity provision in small island developing states. Energy Policy, 98, 725–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouillet, J. (2017). Débat privé, enjeu public? Comment les citoyens ordinaires construisent des opinions sur le problème de l’énergie. Thèse de science politique, Université de Grenoble Alpes, soutenue le 12 septembre 2017.

  • Bouly de Lesdain, S. (2015). Installing rooftop solar panels in private homes: the case of small electricity producers on Reunion Island (Indian Ocean). Research in Economic Anthropology, 35, 25–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouly de Lesdain, S. (2018). Petits producteurs en énergie solaire en Corse: routines domestiques et rapports sociaux locaux à l’énergie en contexte semi-insulaire. In N. Orthar & H. Subrémon (Eds.), L’atelier des usages de l’énergie. Anthropologie d’une transition en cours. Paris: Éditions Pétra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brugidou, M., & Jobert, A. (2015). Le débat sur l’énergie a-t-il lieu (x)? Une perspective topologique. In J. Cihuelo, A. Jobert, & C. Grandclément (Eds.), Énergie et transformations sociales: Enquêtes sur les interfaces énergétiques (pp. 151–163). Paris: Lavoisier, Collection Socio-Économie de L’énergie – EDF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cova, B., Ezan, P., & Fuschillo, G. (2013). Zoom sur l’autoproduction du consommateur. Revue Française de Gestion, 5(234), 115–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debourdeau, A. (2011). De la ‘solution’ au ‘problème’. La problématisation de l’obligation d’achat de l’énergie solaire photovoltaïque en France et en Allemagne. Politix, 3(95), 103–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobigny, L. (2008). Changement énergétique et rapport au monde. In M.-J. Menozzi, F. Flipo, & D. Pécaud (Eds.), Energie et Société. Sciences, gouvernances et usages (pp. 215–224). Aix-en-Provence: Edisud.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobigny, L. (2014). Produire et échanger localement son énergie. Dynamiques et solidarités à l’œuvre dans les communes rurales. In F. Papy, N. Mathieu, & C. Ferault (Eds.), Nouveaux rapports à la nature dans les campagnes (pp. 139–152). Paris: Editions Quae.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dornan, M. (2015). Renewable energy development in Small Island developing states of the Pacific renewable energy development in Small Island developing states of the Pacific. Resources, 2015(4), 490–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evrard, A. (2013). Contre vents et marées. Politiques des énergies renouvelables en Europe. Paris: Presses de Sciences Po.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faiers, A., & Neame, C. (2006). Consumer attitudes towards solar power systems. Energy Policy, 34(14), 1797–1806.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forde, E. (2017). The ethics of energy provisioning: living off-grid in rural Wales. Energy Research & Social Science, 30, 82–93.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Geelen, D., Reinders, A., & Keyson, D. (2013). Empowering the end-user in smart grids: recommendations for the design of products and services. Energy Policy, 61, 151–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goulden, M., Bedwell, B., Renninck-Egglestone, S., Rodden, T., & Spence, A. (2014). Smart grids, smart users? The role of the user in demand side management. Energy Research & Social Science, 2, 21–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henning, A. (2000). Ambigous artefacts. Solar collectors in Swedish contexts. On processes of cultural modification. Stockholm: Stockholm Studies in Social Anthropology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe, C., & Boyer, D. (2015). Aeolian politics, Distinktion. Scandinavian Journal of Social Theory, 16(1), 31–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jobert, A., Laborgne, P., & Mimler, S. (2007). Local acceptance of wind energy: factors of success identified in French and German case studies. Energy Policy, 35, 2751–2760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keirstead, J. (2005). Photovoltaïcs in the UK domestic sector: a double-dividend? ECEEE SummerStudy 2005 Proceedings, Volume 3 pp. 1249-58

  • Keirstead, J. (2007). Behavioural responses to photovoltaic system in the UK domestic sector. Energy Policy, 35, 4128–4141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kopytoff, I. (1986). The cultural biography of things: commodization as process. In A. Apparudai (Ed.), The social life of things. Commodities in perspectives (pp. 64–91). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nadaï, A. (2007). “Planning”, “siting” and the local acceptance of wind power: some lessons from the French case. Energy Policy, 35, 2715–2726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadaï, A., Labussiere, O., Debourdeau, A., Regnier, Y., Cointe, B., & Dobigny, L. (2014). French policy localism: surfing on ‘positive Energie territories’ (Tepos). Energy Policy, 78, 281–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notton, G. (2015). Importance of islands in renewable energy production and storage: the situation of the French islands. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 47, 260–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palm, J. (2017). Swedish prosumers in a 10-year perspective—What can we learn form a market in transformation? ECEEE Summer Study – Consumption, Efficiency & limits, ECEEE Summer Study Proceedings, 1971–1978.

  • Pehlivian, S. (2013). Le soleil à l’affiche, entre promotion et contestation. In Y. Bouvier & S. Pehlivan (Eds.), Les politiques publiques de l'énergie solaire (pp. 41–56). Annales historiques de l’électricité. Paris: Victoires éditions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perez, Y., & Real, F. (2008). How to make a European integrated market in small and isolated electricity systems? The case of the Canary Islands. Energy Policy, 36, 4159–4167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Praene, J.-P., David, M., Sinama, F., Morau, D., & Marc, O. (2012). Renewable energy: progressing towards a net zero energy island, the case of Reunion Island. Renewable Sustainable Energy Review, 16, 426–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, R., & Raturi, A. (2017). Grid electricity for Fiji islands: future supply options and assessment of demand trends. Energy, 119, 860–871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruvost, G. (2013). L’alternative écologique. Vivre et travailler autrement. Terrain, 60, 36–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raineau, L. (2011). Vers une transition énergétique ? Natures Sciences Sociétés, 19(2), 133–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reckwitz, A. (2002). Toward a theory of social practices: a development in culturalist theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5, 243–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Molina, J., Martinez-Nunez, M., Martinez, J.-F., & Pérez-Aguiar, W. (2014). Business models in the smart grid: challenges, opportunities and proposals for prosumer profitability. Energies, 7, 6142–6171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sauter, R., & Watson, J. (2007). Strategies for the deployment of micro-generation: implications for social acceptance. Energy Policy, 35, 2770–2779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savidan, L., Shaffar, A., Dimou M., & Garde, F. (2008). La consommation énergétique des ménages à la Réunion: vers un retour à l’autonomie par le biais des énergies renouvelables. Etudes caribéennes, [En ligne], 11 | Décembre 2008, mis en ligne le 15 décembre 2008, consulté le 13 septembre 2016. http://etudescaribeennes.revues.org/3519. https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.3519.

  • Stern, P. C. (2005). Understanding individuals’ environmentally significant behavior. Environmental Law Institute News & Analysis, 35(11), 10785–10790.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sütterlin, B., & Siegrist, M. (2017). Public acceptance of renewable energy technologies from an abstract versus concrete perspective and the positive imagery of solar power. Energy Policy, 106, 356–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tengvard, M., & Palm, J. (2009). Adopting small-scale production of electricity. ECEEE Summer study, Act ! Innovate ! Deliver ! Reducing energy demand sustainably.

  • Throndsen, W., & Moe Skjosvold, T. (2017). From consumer to prosumer. Enrolling users into a Norwegian PV pilot. ECEEE summer study proceedings, 2011–2020.

  • Vasseur, V., & Kemp, R. (2015). A segmentation analysis: the case of photovoltaic in the Netherlands. Energy Efficiency, 8, 1105–1123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warde, A. (2005). Consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture, 5(2), 131–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, P. (2014). The use of systematic reviews to analyse demand-side management policy. Energy Efficiency, 7, 417–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wüstenhagen, R., Wolsink, M., & Bürer, M. J. (2007). Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: an introduction to the concept. Energy Policy, 35, 2683–2691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EDF R&D, 7 Boulevard Gaspard Monge, 91120, Palaiseau, France

    Sophie Bouly de Lesdain

Authors
  1. Sophie Bouly de Lesdain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sophie Bouly de Lesdain.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Statistical sources

Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques: https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bouly de Lesdain, S. The photovoltaic installation process and the behaviour of photovoltaic producers in insular contexts: the French island example (Corsica, Reunion Island, Guadeloupe). Energy Efficiency 12, 711–722 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-018-9680-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-018-9680-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation