Doctoral Dissertation Research: Human, Technical, and Environmental Aspects of Energy Entrepreneurship

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will produce an historical ethnography of electric grid provision, use, and maintenance in Senegal. The focus will be on the shift from state-managed electric grids to local electric grids built by entrepreneurs. The co-PI will explore the role and attitudes of a range of actors in this socio-technological system, from politicians, engineers, and utility professionals to energy entrepreneurs-- transnational traders who have entered the energy market by leveraging the trade networks they or their families participated in before liberalization. Participant observation and interviews will also be done with household consumers. The research will result in a dissertation, journal articles, and a book which should be of value to policy makers and development communities engaged in energy infrastructure and market issues, sustainable development.