Social innovation in energy system transformation

Moves towards decentralisation, digitalisation and decarbonisation of our energy systems are accompanied by changes in actor constellations and their activities. Research has started referring to such changes as social innovation in energy (SIE) and investigated their role in energy system transformation. This contribution provides an overview of the work on SIE along four points: 1) a focus on bottom up activity, 2) the embedding of such bottom up activity in energy markets, 3) an emergent broadening of the understanding of SIE and 4) linkages to social movement perspectives. It then provides two critical reflections and their policy implications: one related to the necessary broadening of the understanding of SIE and a second related to more systematic attempts towards capturing the diversity of SIE - both allowing to not only consider SIE as instrument but as emancipatory concept for counterhegemonic energy system transformation.