Public Engagement in Micro-hydro Technology in Central Java: A Call to Decentralize the Energy System (2024)
Pratama Yudha Pradheksa (Author)
Putri Cahya Arimbi (Author)
Dian Tamitiadini (Author)
East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Pages: 70-86
This article explores how the public might actively participate in renewable energy projects by studying the role of local and credentialed experts in the development of micro-hydro technology for self-supply (off-grid electrification) or commercialization (on-grid electrification) in Central Java, Indonesia. All of the data were gathered qualitatively, including semi-structured interviews with local experts and energy experts, as well as interviews with local entrepreneurs, private companies, government agencies, end users, and civil society groups. Other methods included document analysis, observations, and site visits. The research found that credentialed and local experts have distinct sets of expertise and roles that complement one another. This challenges the “deficit” model of public understanding of science, which often claims that energy projects fail due to a lack of policy-relevant knowledge. The expertise of locals, their financial situation, and their geographic location are all considered to be linked with the design of micro-hydro technology, which is most typically run-of-river. While micro-hydro design is often related to “decentralization,” standardized expertise has emerged as a critical impediment to alternative energy commercialization. This article concludes that public participation, supported by decentralized policies, is required to drive future growth and maintain the long-term viability of micro-hydro technology.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
Dan Santos;
(2025)
The co-production of biotechnology and democratization in community science labs
Article
Elina Uutela;
Esa Väliverronen;
(2025)
Redefining expertise: how proponents and opponents of alternative therapies evaluate expertise
Book
Hirt, Paul W.;
(2012)
The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s
Article
Roberto Cantoni;
(2022)
Fighting Science with Science: Counter-Expertise Production in Anti-Shale Gas Mobilizations in France and Poland
Article
Thomas Berker;
Liana Müller;
(2023)
Seduction, caution, fight: Media framing of research-based expertise in Norwegian print media coverage of low energy buildings (2005–2012)
Article
Ju-Yi Roshnii Chou;
Kuang-chi Hung;
(2022)
Carbon Technocracy: Energy Regimes in Modern East Asia
Book
Campbell, J. B.;
Campbell, Brian;
(2012)
Rivers and the Power of Ancient Rome
Chapter
Kreiner, Ralf;
(2002)
Die Nutzung von Wind- und Wasserkraft auf Kreta seit dem Beginn der venezianischen Herrschaft (1212): Eine Einführung in das Forschungsfeld
Book
Xiangli Ding;
(2024)
Hydropower Nation: Dams, Energy, and Political Changes in Twentieth-Century China
Article
Maria Montava Gadea;
Antoni Maria Claret Roca-Rosell;
(2021)
Informe sobre Can Cartró, Sant Joan Despí. Un sistema energètic singular (Report on Can Cartró, Sant Joan Despí. A Singular Energy System)
Book
Landels, John G.;
(2000)
Engineering in the Ancient World
Article
Landry, Marc;
(2015)
Environmental Consequences of the Peace: The Great War, Dammed Lakes, and Hydraulic History in the Eastern Alps
Article
Rynne, Colin;
(2015)
The Technical Development of the Horizontal Water-Wheel in the First Millennium AD: Some Recent Archaeological Insights from Ireland
Article
Malm, Andreas;
(2013)
Fleeing the Flowing Commons: Robert Thom, Water Reservoir Schemes, and the Shift to Steam Power in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain
Article
Yoonsuh Kim;
(2025)
"Sacredly Confidential": Medical Advice Columns, Consumerism, and Literary Imagination in Turn-of-the-Century Women's Magazine Culture
Article
Heidi Campana Piva;
(2023)
A Resurgence of Cooperation between Scientists and Laypersons
Article
Nurcin Ileri;
(2024)
The politics of electricity use and non-use in late Ottoman Istanbul
Book
Layman, Lenore;
(2011)
Powering Perth: A History of the East Perth Power Station
Article
Arunabh Ghosh;
(2022)
Multiple makings at China’s first hydroelectric power station at Shilongba, 1908–1912
Article
John Cropper;
(2023)
”The sparrow loves millet, but labors not”: Energy use and infrastructure in the Senegal Valley, 1450-1760
Be the first to comment!