2011 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
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independent local actors create their own rules,
sufficient for their purposes. Secondly,
inter-local
phase
; there is increased circulation of knowledge and
exchange of experiences within social networks and
rules may become shared among different locations.
Thirdly,
trans-local phase
, there is increased
production of knowledge and rules, which are intended
to be trans-local rather than local, e.g. standardization
based on consolidated knowledge. Fourthly,
cosmopolitan phase
; local practices are structured
through rules produced at the cosmopolitan level. At
this level, there are dedicated actors at the
cosmopolitan level that play a structural role in the
dissemination of experiences. The niche has evolved
into a new regime. (Raven, 2005) Fig. 2 represents the
sociological difference between experiments and
niches, i.e. in terms of structuration.
Fig. 2. Emerging level of niches in relation to local practices in
experiments.
Socio-technical Landscape
is difference kind of
structure, provided structuration of activities stronger
than regimes, refers to aspects of the wider exogenous
environment that usually changes slowly and
influences niches and regime dynamics (Geels, 2004;
Geels, 2007).
The metaphor ‘landscape’ is chosen
because of the literal connotation of relative ‘hardness’
and the material context of society, e.g. the material
and spatial arrangements of cities, factories, highways,
and electricity infrastructures. The macro-level of
landscape, set of heterogeneous factors, consists of
slow changing external factors, providing gradients for
the trajectories, comprising wider societal and cultural
characteristics and trends such as individualization and
globalization. (Geels, 2002; Geels, 2004; Elzen and
Anna, 2005) Van Driel and Schot (2005) elaborated the
landscape concept, distinguishing three types: (1)
factors that do not change or that change only slowly,
such as climate; (2) long-term changes, such as
German industrialization in the late 19
th
century; (3)
rapid external shocks, such as wars or fluctuations in
the price of oil. This varied set of factors can be
combined in a single ‘landscape’ category, because
they form an external context that actors cannot
influence in the short run. The socio technical
landscape forms an exogenous environment beyond the
direct influence of niche and regime actors (Geels,
2007). Changes at the landscape level, for instance,
may put pressure on the regime, and create openings
for new technologies (Geels, 2002).
In Fig. 3, Geels (2002; 2004; 2007) reported to the
multi-level perspective can be used to understand
system innovations, as transitions come about through
interactions between processes at these three levels
when developments at all three levels link up and
reinforce each other and Fig. 3 has become a somewhat
standardized picture of this dynamic. (a) Novelties
emerge in niches in the context of existing regimes and
landscapes with its specific problems, rules and
capabilities. Actors in precarious networks work on
radical innovations. Innovations build up internal
momentum,
through
learning
processes,
price/performance improvements, and support from
powerful groups. In Fig. 3 shows how technological
transition start in niches, the dotted arrows indicate that
the emergence of niches is strongly influenced by
existing regimes and landscape, the alignment of these
processes enables the breakthrough of novelties in
mainstream markets where they compete with the
existing regime, (b) at meso level or socio-technical
regime distinguished in seven dimensions: technology,
user practices and application domains (markets),
symbolic meaning of technology, infrastructure,
industry structure, policy and techno-scientific
knowledge. As long as socio-technical regimes are
stable and aligned, radical novelties have few chances
and remain stuck in particular niches and socio-
technical regimes occurrence of trajectories but
destabilization of the regime creates windows of
opportunity for niche innovations, (C) changes at the
landscape level usually take place slowly, e.g. cultural
changes, demographic trends, broad political Changes,
create pressure on the regime. The important point of
the multi-level perspective is that the further success of
a new technology is not only governed by processes
within the niche, but also by developments at the level
of the existing regime and the socio-technical
landscape.
Fig. 3. Multi-level perspective on transitions
(adapted from Geels, 2002, p. 1263).
III.
D
EVELOPMENT AND SITUATION OF
T
HAILAND
ELECTRICITY
Thailand electricity development
.
The first Thai
electricity distribution was on September 20, 1884, at
the Chakri throne Hall in the Grand Palace, the
