Community owned renewable energy (CORE) in Ireland’s energy transition: locating Homo curans in collective action

The development of the community owned renewable energy (CORE) sector in Ireland is explored in this research and the findings are used to reflect on the Irish energy transition through a sociological lens. The CORE story is examined using qualitative research with forty-six participants interviewed from across the pillars of community, state and market, and through content analysis of Irish strategy, policy and planning documents for references to community energy. This study elaborates how an empowered community pillar influenced the development of policy for CORE between 2004 and 2022 and explores aspects of social innovation evident within this nascent sector in Ireland. Social cohesion is required to tackle the challenge of climate change. This thesis argues that the community pillar puts a greater focus on social cohesion and to nurture this for an effective energy transition in Ireland requires resourced community connectors, facilitators for participatory spaces, and increased local governance. As local assets CORE and the mandated community benefit scheme within the Irish Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) are creating exemplar empowered community forums. It is suggested that these spaces for local deliberation offer the possibility of transformative learning. Care of each other and of our shared home, is described as subjugated knowledge and these deliberative spaces create the opportunity for values and social norms embedded in care and cooperation to emerge as alternatives to individualism and competition. It is also proposed that there is a convergence of voices across disciplines, and across indigenous and academic knowledge, towards eco-social values with a focus on well-being rather than profit, on solidarity rather than who is ‘greatest’, and therein lies the possibility of an eco-cosmopolitanism.The emergence of a global citizen, and justice at this scale, will only be possible when increased cohesiveness is realised locally through collective action grounded in care. The energy transition in Ireland as it takes place in communities is creating the possibilities for such transformative spaces and through this study of the energy citizen and community energy in Ireland, evidence for the emergence of this eco-social citizen – Homo curans – is sought.

Grantor dc:publisher

University College Cork

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Creed, Elizabeth

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Mullally, Gerard
• Dunphy, Niall

• Community energy
• Energy citizen
• Homo curans
• Energy transition
• Social innovation
• Community empowerment
• Collective action
• Eco-social citizen
• Care
• Transformation

Statement dc:rights

• © 2025, Elizabeth Creed.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/18451

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cora.ucc.ie:10468/18451