How Can Low-Carbon Energy Dematerialize the Economy? Technological Transitions and the Political Economy of Electricity Generation

This dissertation addresses features of the displacement paradox in the context of electricity generation, both at the cross-national level and within one region of the United States. The displacement paradox is the empirical phenomenon of substitutes to a specific product, here fuels used to generate electricity, do not necessarily replace incumbent products in a 1:1 ratio thus increasing total resource consumption, and in some examples are observed to increase consumption of the incumbent product. Chapter 1 describes how the displacement of fossil fuels with non-fossil fuels varies based on a nation’s social structural position within the global capitalist world-system. I find that semiperiphery nations have higher predicted displacement of fossil fuels, possibly due to the dynamics of domestic elites. Chapter 2 asks how multiple dimensions of domestic inequality (gender inequality, economic inequality, and colonial history) may create landscapes of inequality on which nations are or will attempt to move away from fossil fuels. I find that much of the variation in national-level displacement of fossil fuels with alternatives can be attributed to the additive effects of each dimension of inequality, though there is some portion of variation which can be attributed to multiplicative effects. Chapter 3 traces the development of hydroelectricity in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and subsequent growth of the region’s consumption of fossil fuels. This history illustrates an example of the displacement paradox, whereby the growth of an alternative fuel (hydroelectricity) contributed to the growth of fossil fuels in the region. This chapter points out the role of institutional continuance, grid management, and neoliberalization of the electricity industry in the growing reliance of the region on fossil fuels. In total, this dissertation demonstrates the roots of the displacement paradox in social organization and the distribution of social power as mediated by capitalist production.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Oregon

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Sikirica, Amanda

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• York, Richard

• displacement paradox
• energy transition
• Pacific Northwest
• world-systems

Statement dc:rights

• All Rights Reserved.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29112

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Ascholarsbank.uoregon.edu%3A1794%2F29112