Electricity transition through intermediaries? Consultants in the smart grid development

The electricity grid of today is not constructed to meet new demands such as increased use of intermittent energy and increased demand. A smart grid needs to be developed that can deliver low-carbon electricity more efficiently and reliably while enabling consumers to manage and reduce their energy use. In this process consultancy firms are important knowledge brokers and intermediaries, providing different kinds of reports including scenarios and models. This project will examine these consultants, their role and their influence on the design of the future smart grid. The project will bring together earlier research on smart grids and research on intermediaries to study the role of consultancy firms as intermediaries. Document studies and interviews are conducted. The conclusions will focus on how these intermediaries envision the smart grid, what problems and solutions they prioritize and what influence they have on the actual design of the smart grid.
The project aims to improve the knowledge, in theory and practice, about the role of consultants in designing and influencing the development of smart grids.
- What are the roles and impacts of consultants in the development and design of the smart grid and the energy transition in general?
- How do consultants conceptualise the smart grid (in reports) in terms of problems and solutions and what implications does this have?