Sweden has an ambitious goal that the country will be carbon neutral by 2045, where this includes all sectors, including transportation and thus aviation. The aviation sector is an important part of the transportationsystem where the development of society has become dependent on this transportationalternative. In 2017, the aviation accounted for six percentof Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions, one percentfrom domestic flightsand five percentfrom international flights. In order toreduce these emissions, active work is ongoing for a transition where domestic aviation will be fossil-free in 2030 and all departures from Sweden to the international market will be fossil-free in 2045. Aviation has historically had a strong connection to fossil fuels and environmentally friendly alternatives have not yet managed to compete in the market.This study has investigated how sustainability can be a central part of the business model and how these should be adapted as part of the work to a fossil-free business, as well as the role of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and policy instruments in the energy transition. By mapping important aspects for sustainable business models, market potential for SAFand the development of new policy instruments,this study contributes with a systems perspective on the Swedish aviation industry's energy transition. The delimitationofthe study has been the Swedish market with focus on actors with their operations in Sweden. The methodologyhas consisted of a literature study, an interview study with 11 actors in the Swedish market and a case study on the airline corporationBraathens Regional Airlines (BRA), which mainly operates domestic flights in Sweden with Bromma as their headquarters.The results showed that there are three areas that are important in the work with sustainable business models, three areas for the market potential for biofuels and four areas for policy instruments. In the development of sustainable business models, cooperation and co-financing are seen as central aspects for an effective transition with better risk distribution. Transparent sustainability work, climate calculations and biofueltickets are considered important tools to increase the customer's understanding of the company's transition towards a sustainable future. The public's lack of knowledge regarding the energy transition for aviation is considered an obstacle towards increased sales of biofuel tickets, which also creates flygskam and avoidance of aviation as a means of transportation. The biggest obstacle towards an increased share ofSAFon the Swedish marketis mainly considered to be the lack of Swedish production.Increased production would mean large investment costs and high risks, which means that co-financed projects are proposed to overcome this obstacle. Biomass as a raw material and how it is used and classified in the EU is also an obstacle towards increased use. Current policy instruments show that the reduction obligation is a positive addition, but the penalty fee needs to be raised above the price of SAF.The EU taxonomy can also play a decisiverole in the transitionprocess, as the classification of biomass and bioenergy can affect interest and willingness to make new investments.In addition, travel policies of companies are an obstacle when they prohibit travel by aviation.Finally, policy instruments are needed that favor Swedish production of SAF, where the industry sees great opportunities in both technology and raw materials, but lack of political initiatives.

In order to mitigate climate change, human activity needs to be decarbonised through a phase-out of fossil fuels, replaced by renewable energy sources. Here, sustainable business models can play an important role through connecting niche renewable technologies to the wider system and thereby allowing them to diffuse. Alternative business models towards the traditional centralised utility model have emerged, but remain poorly developed, and understood, especially their impact on transition dynamics over time. Therefore, this study combines business model research with the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions, in order to investigate how emerging sustainable business models in Germany co-evolve with the country’s energy system over time. The three studied business models are tenant electricity, community microgrid and virtual power plant. To this end, the study applied a qualitative research approach, involving an interview, survey and document review in order assess with which transition pathways, based on the multi-level perspective, the three studied business models share most characteristics with. The results suggest that community microgrid currently follows a substitution pathway, in which old regime structures are replaced over time. The business model of tenant electricity is still stuck in its niche, but under adjusting regulatory structures expected to follow a transformative pathway with minor regime adjustments, while the basic regime architecture remains unchanged. Lastly, virtual power plants as a symbiotic business model shares most characteristics with a reconfiguration pathway, in which it triggers internal change and over time can result in major structural reconfigurations. These results underline that not only the type of employed technology plays a crucial role, but also how it is made available to society in form of business models. Further, the alignment with different transitional pathways provides a more nuanced perspective on how different business model types co-relate and impact transition dynamics and thereby provides a basis for future discussions around how a sustainable energy transition can be steered towards a more democratic and inclusive energy system.

The urgent need to combat climate change is increasingly being recognized. The Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming, requires carbon neutrality to be achieved by the mid-21st century. Further, the energy crisis in Europe that started in 2021 highlights the importance of energy security. Universities play a crucial role in promoting the transition to neutrality. This study aims to increase universities' electricity independence to further facilitate their transition to carbon neutrality. To this end, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method was adopted to select scenarios for increasing a campus building complex's electricity independence, considering various stakeholders' interests together with the scenarios' performances on technical, environmental, economic, and social criteria. The findings show that photovoltaic technology, despite its perceived environmental benefits, performs poorly in reducing carbon emissions when considering lifecycle emissions, particularly in countries with low-carbon electricity like Sweden. Conversely, energy conservation through behavioral changes emerges as the optimal scenario for Campus Gotland due to its economic and environmental advantages. These results challenge the common reliance on energy production technology for carbon neutrality, highlighting the greater effectiveness of demand-side measures. This work suggests that universities need a more human-centric approach to transitioning to carbon neutrality. In a broader context, this study provides universities with insights to make informed decisions to achieve carbon neutrality, emphasizing the need to consider all stakeholders. By offering a comprehensive assessment and analysis of various scenarios, this work enhances the understanding of best practices for universities aiming to lead in the global effort against climate change.

To reach the 1.5°C-goal of the Paris Agreement, all sectors have to be involved in the transition. The transport sector poses a considerable challenge regarding sustainable development and, within the sector, road transport contributes to the largest part of emissions in the EU. The development of fuels for heavy-duty vehicles is not as fast as for other types of vehicles. However, approaches combining biomethane and green hydrogen as alternative fuels have gained interest. There are plans to both expand the biogas sector and implementing hydrogen production on Gotland. Therefore, this study examines how two of these approaches, hythane and power-to-methane technology, compare to each other as HDV-fuels on Gotland. A simplified MCA has been conducted to compare the two alternative fuels’ performance against each other based on several criteria. The results show that hythane performed better than power-to-methane in the criteria categories technical performance and feasibility Gotland, while power-to-methane performed better regarding environmental impact. As hythane performed better in a larger number of criteria than biomethane produced through power-to-methane, the results of the study imply that, based on Gotland’s pre-conditions, hythane is preferable as HDV-fuel over using power-to-methane technology. However, prioritization of the criteria is not conducted and further research that includes weighing of the criteria, as well as examines the economic and social factors of the two systems, is required for a sufficient feasibility study.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Oil is the quintessential resource in the modern industrial economy. It accounts for a third of world primary energy, fuels 95% of global transport systems, sustains a highly mechanised agribusiness and food distribution industry, and provides the feedstock for a staggering array of petrochemical products. Historically, global economic growth has been closely coupled with consumption of energy in general and oil in particular. Yet oil is a finite resource subject to depletion, which has profound implications for the long-term sustainability of industrial civilisation. This dissertation addresses a serious dearth of attention given to this vital subject within South African energy, economic and policy discourses. The overarching aims are to understand the implications of global oil depletion for socioeconomic welfare in South Africa and to propose viable strategies and policies for mitigating and adapting to potential negative impacts. A comparative evaluation of three fields of study found that neoclassical economics is limited by its monistic and reductionist approach and its failure to adequately incorporate energy into its key theoretical models, whereas ecological economics and the socioecological systems approach together provide an appropriate, holistic lens for analysing the role of energy in socioeconomic systems. In this view, energy is the master resource: it is a pre-requisite for economic activity and societal complexity. A review of the literature on global oil depletion finds that a peak and decline in world oil production appears imminent, while world oil exports most likely peaked in 2005. Moreover, the energy return on (energy) investment (EROI) for global oil production is on a declining trend. The world oil peak thus marks the end of the era of cheap and abundant oil. Increasing oil scarcity will likely be reflected in oil prices following a rising trend with heightened volatility. While there are many potential substitutes for oil, all have significant limitations, most have lower EROI than oil, and it may take decades to scale them up sufficiently. Many aspects of the South African socioeconomic system are either directly or indirectly dependent on petroleum fuels, while structural features of the economy and society render them vulnerable to external shocks. Historical evidence and empirical models suggest that oil price and supply shocks will have debilitating socioeconomic impacts. Under business-as-usual policies and behaviours, future oil scarcity will likely lead at best to a gradual contraction in the economy with rising unemployment and inflation, and at worst to systemic collapse of interconnected critical infrastructure systems. A comprehensive range of mitigation measures are proposed, including accelerated investments in renewable energy and electrified mass transport, agro-ecological farming, greening the economy, monetary system reform, and rationing schemes to protect the most vulnerable members of society. Together these measures can build resilience to shocks and gradually decouple economic activity from petroleum consumption. A successful societal transition from a fossil fuel based industrial regime to a sustainable socioeconomic regime requires purposive government intervention, the promotion of sustainability-oriented innovations in technology and institutions, and the political will to surmount obstacles such as powerful vested interests and socio-technical lock-in. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Olie is die kern-hulpmiddel in die moderne bedryfsgerigte ekonomie. Dit is verantwoordelik vir ’n derde van die wêreld se primêre energie, verskaf die aandrywing vir 95% van alle vervoerstelsels, onderhou ’n hoogs gemeganiseerde landboubedryf en voedselverspreidingsnywerheid, en voorsien die voerstof vir ’n verstommende reeks petrochemiese produkte. Histories beskou, is globale ekonomiese groei ten nouste gekoppel aan die verbruik van energie oor die algemeen en aan olie in die besonder. Tog is olie ’n beperkte hulpbron wat onderworpe is aan uitputting en lediging, en dit hou gevolglik onmeetlike implikasies vir die algemene langtermyn volhoubaarheid van nywerhede in. Dié verhandeling neem die ernstige gebrek aan aandag binne Suid-Afrikaanse diskoerse oor energie, ekonomie en beleidsrigtings wat betref hierdie lewensbelangrike onderwerp, in oënskou. Die oorkoepelende doelwitte is om die implikasies van globale olie-uitputting op sosio-ekonomiese welvaart in Suid-Afrika te begryp, en om lewensvatbare strategieë en beleidsrigtings voor te stel waarvolgens potensiële negatiewe invloede getemper en by aangepas kan word. ’n Vergelykende evaluering van drie studieterreine het bevind neoklassieke ekonomie is beperk weens sy monistiese en verlagingsbenadering en sy mislukking om energie doelmatig in te sluit by sy sleutel teoretiese modelle, terwyl die benaderings van die ekologiese ekonomie en die sosio-ekologiese stelsels saam ’n toepaslike holistiese lens bied vir die analisering van die rol van energie in sosio-ekonomiese stelsels. In dié opsig is energie die meester-hulpmiddel: dit is ’n voorvereiste vir ekonomiese bedrywigheid en gemeenskapsverbondenheid. ’n Oorsig van die literatuur oor globale olie-lediging toon dat ’n toppunt en daling in wêreldolieproduksie onvermydelik blyk te wees – globale olie-uitvoer het na alle waarskynlikheid sy toppunt in 2005 bereik. Voorts toon die energie-opbrengs op (energie) investering, ofte wel EROI, ten opsigte van wêreldolieproduksie ’n dalende tendens. Die wêreldolie-toppunt dui dus op die einde van die era van goedkoop en oorvloedige olie. Toenemende olieskaarste sal waarskynlik blyk uit oliepryse wat ’n stygende tendens volg gepaard met verskerpte veranderlikheid. Hoewel daar talle potensiële plaasvervangers vir olie bestaan, het almal beduidende beperkinge, die meeste se EROI is laer as olie s’n en dit kan dekades duur alvorens hulle genoegsaam opgegradeer sal kan word. Vele aspekte van die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-ekonomiese stelsel is of direk of indirek afhanklik van petroleum-brandstowwe, terwyl strukturele kenmerke van die ekonomie en samelewing hulle kwesbaar vir eksterne skokke laat. Lesse uit die verlede en empiriese modelle dui daarop dat die olieprys en skokke rondom die voorsiening daarvan verlammende sosio-ekonomiese impakte en invloede tot gevolg sal hê. Onder ’n sake-soos-gewoonlik-beleid en optrede, sal toekomstige olieskaarste, optimisties beskou, waarskynlik aanleiding gee tot geleidelike inkrimping van die ekonomie met gepaardgaande stygende werkloosheid en inflasie – pessimisties beskou, kan dit die sistematiese ineenstorting van kritiesbelangrike en onderling verbonde infrastruktuurstelsels beteken. ’n Omvattende reeks verligtingsmaatreëls word voorgestel, insluitende versnelde investering in hernubare energie en geëlektrifiseerde massavervoer, agro-ekologiese landbou, vergroening van die ekonomie, monetêre stelselhervorming en rantsoeneringskemas om die mees kwesbare lede van die samelewing te beskerm. Saam kan dié maatreëls veerkragtigheid vestig teen skokke en ekonomiese bedrywigheid geleidelik van petroleumverbruik losmaak. ’n Geslaagde samelewingsoorgang van ’n fossielbrandstof-gebaseerde nywerheidsbestel na ’n volhoubare sosio-ekonomiese bestel vereis doelmatige regeringsintervensie, die bevordering van volhoubaar-georiënteerde innovasies in

Um Strommärkte so zu konzipieren damit sie sowohl zur Verringerung der Nutzung fossiler Brennstoffe als auch zur Deckung des steigenden Energiebedarfes beitragen, ist Wissen über die Präferenzen der Konsumenten notwendig. Die vorliegende kumulative Dissertation untersucht Präferenzen für Elektrizitätsattribute von privaten Haushalten und trägt zu einem tieferen Verständnis dieser in unterschiedlichen Kontextsituationen bei. Der erste Artikel betrachtet statistische Methoden um die zwei am häufigsten angewandten Modelle – das Random Parameter Logit und das Latent Class Logit Modell – zu vergleichen. Der Artikel trägt dazu bei, den Prozess der Modellwahl zu verbessern und für die angewandte Forschung im Energiebereich anzupassen. Basierend auf den empirischen Ergebnissen des ersten Artikels untersucht der zweite Artikel die Präferenzen von privaten Haushalten in Hyderabad, Indien mit besonderem Fokus auf die physische Qualität der Energieversorgung. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine geringe Zahlungsbereitschaft der Konsumenten hin. Jedoch unterscheiden sich die Präferenzen der Haushalte. Die Artikel 3 und 4 basieren auf Datenerhebungen in Deutschland. Im dritten Artikel werden die Präferenzen privater Haushalte hinsichtlich der Organisationsform von Stromanbietern untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Kunden bereit sind mehr zu zahlen, wenn die Stromversorgung von Genossenschaften oder Stadtwerken übernommen wird. Der vierte Artikel betrachtet die Erfolgsfaktoren von Energiegenossenschaften in Deutschland. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Governance des Stromanbieters die Zahlungsbereitschaft für Strom beeinflussen. Insbesondere Genossenschaften werden den großen Privatunternehmen und Aktiengesellschaften vorgezogen. / In order to design electricity markets to simultaneously reduce the share of fossil fuels in energy production and meet the increasing demand for electricity, knowledge on consumer preferences is necessary. The goal of this cumulative dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of preferences of private households for electricity supply attributes in different contexts. In Paper 1 I review statistical methods to compare two frequently applied models, the random parameters logit and the latent class logit. The methods presented here can be readily used by other researchers and practitioners to better understand model performance which ultimately contributes to improving model choice in applied energy research. Based on the empirical findings of Paper 1, Paper 2 identifies preferences of private households in Hyderabad in India for electricity supply quality. The results indicate that willingness to pay for improvements are, on average, rather low. However, the preferences strongly vary between subjects. Papers 3 and 4 investigate preferences of German private households. In \textbf{Paper 3}, the respondents stated their preferences for the organization of the electricity distribution company under different renewable energy scenarios. It turned out that most people are willing to pay more for electricity supplied by municipally-owned companies and cooperatives. This additional willingness to pay increases disproportionally when the share of renewable energy is high. The paper identifies non-profit orientated distribution companies as potential drivers of the energy transition. Paper 4 investigates the determinants for the success of energy cooperatives in Germany. The results indicate that the governance of distribution companies impacts the choices of private households for electricity supply contracts. Especially, people preferred cooperative-like governance attributes.

Flerbostadshus anses viktiga för att minska energianvändningen i byggnader, och potentialen att energieffektivisera i samband med renovering är stor. Denna studie behandlar hur arbete med energifrågor genomförs i renovering av flerbostadshus byggda under miljonprogrammet i stadsdelen Östra Sätra i Gävle. Avhandlingens analytiska verktyg baseras på perspektiv utvecklade inom teknik och vetenskapsstudier (STS) och aktörsnätverksteori (ANT) samt urbana studier. I studien utvecklas och tillämpas verktyget energisammansättningar. Genom en symmetrisk ansats studeras energifrågors definition och innehåll i renoveringen genom att spåra kedjor av översättningar. Det empiriska underlaget är kvalitativa intervjuer, mål- och strategidokument, beslutsprotokoll och observationer. Avhandlingen visar att energiarbetets innehåll flätades samman med exempelvis kommunal planering och energipolitik, med bostadsbolagets befintliga arbetssätt för renoveringar och dess relationer till sina kunder, samt med lagen för allmännyttiga bostadsbolag. Studien identifierar också att spänningar uppstod i energiarbetet inom flera områden. Dessa rör hur de ekonomiska vinsterna och kostnaderna för energiarbete ska beräknas och fördelas, översättningar av energimål, var och hur energiarbete ska prioriteras i den bebyggda miljön, i vilken takt energiarbetet ska ske och hur de boende ska delta i energiarbete. Studien visar att energieffektiviserande åtgärder prioriterades i renoveringen så länge som de beräknades vara ekonomiskt affärsmässiga och en del av det allmännyttiga arbetet, men även hur förändringar var svåra att genomföra om de utmanade eller förändrade befintliga relationer och arbetssätt. Det gällde särskilt i relationen till de boende i området och till ekonomiska kostnader för renoveringen. / Transforming the energy used in apartment buildings have become increasingly important issues. This study examines how energy issues were designed in a refurbishment project for apartment buildings built during the “Million Programme” era in Sweden in the district of Östra Sätra in Gävle. The analytical approach and tools used are based on science and technology studies (STS), actor–network theory (ANT), and urban studies. Specifically, the study applies the concept of assemblages, which in this study are called energy assemblages. Energy issues are examined as they translated and negotiated in practice by actors and how they are incorporated into the refurbishment design. The empirical data are based on qualitative interviews, analyses of documents, and observations. The analyses demonstrate that work on energy issues was intertwined with the city’s work on planning and energy issues, the housing company’s working practices, as well as the laws governing public housing companies. The study also demonstrates that sometimes tensions arose in situations in which different energy assemblage processes collided. The study identifies several areas of tension. First, tensions arose in situations of diverse translations of energy goals. Second, in negotiations about calculations of the financial costs of energy transition. Third, tensions also arose when determining where energy transition should be located. Fourth, about resident participation in energy issues. Fifth, the energy transition timeframe. The study demonstrates that energy efficiency measures were prioritized in the refurbishment as long as they were treated as financially beneficial and did not challenge or change existing relationships, work practices, and customer relations.

Cette thèse étudie les mécanismes économiques concernant la transition vers des technologies propres et examine les approches politiques pour atteindre le sentier de transition socialement optimale. Elle examine les politiques économiques visant à faire face au changement climatique, telles que l'adaptation et la taxation des ressources non-renouvelables. En outre, elle examine les politiques économiques visant à accroître l'utilisation de technologies efficaces et identifie les cas pour lesquels la politique atteint ses objectifs ou non. Elle analyse également l'impact des inégalités de richesse sur le soutien politique aux taxes environnementales. Le premier chapitre étudie la transition énergétique en utilisant un modèle de croissance optimale dans lequel les ressources non-renouvelables et renouvelables sont des substituts imparfaits. Le deuxième chapitre étudie le rôle de la politique d'adaptation sur la transition vers une économie propre. Il intègre la politique d'adaptation dans le problème de l'extraction optimale des ressources non-renouvelables avec des externalités de pollution, en mettant l'accent sur la politique d'adaptation en étant une variable de stock. Le troisième chapitre se concentre sur le problème de l'adoption des nouvelles technologies dans un cadre micro-économique. Il regarde le comportement des entreprises qui font face à une décision d'investir : soit dans une capacité de production bon marché mais inefficace, soit dans une capacité plus chère mais efficace, lorsqu'on prend en compte la présence d'une contrainte financière. Le quatrième et dernier chapitre examine les effets distributifs d'une taxe sur la pollution en considérant une société dans laquelle la richesse est répartie de manière hétérogène entre les ménages. / This dissertation investigates the economic mechanisms underlying the transition to clean technologies and examines policy approaches to achieve the socially optimal path. It studies various policy measures aiming to deal with climate change, such as adaptation and taxation of non-renewable resources. Furthermore, it examines the policy instruments that target increasing the use of efficient technologies and identifies cases in which the policy reaches its objectives or not. It also analyzes the role of heterogeneity in society on agents' willingness to support a pollution tax. The first chapter studies the energy transition by using an optimal growth model in which non-renewable and renewable natural resources are imperfect substitutes in providing energy services necessary for production. The second chapter studies the role of adaptation policy on the transition to a low­ carbon economy. lt incorporates adaptation policy into the problem of optimal non-renewable resource extraction with pollution externalities, by focusing on the capital nature of adaptation measures. The third chapter focuses on the problem of adopting new technologies in a micro-economic framework. lt studies the behavior of firms when they face a decision to invest either in a cheap but inefficient production capacity or in an expensive but efficient one, by taking into account the presence of a financial constraint. The fourth and last chapter investigates the distributional impacts of a pollution tax by considering a society in which wealth is distributed heterogeneously among households.

In order to cope with the changing climate, there will be a need for mitigating transformations of a scope, speed and magnitude that are unprecedented in human history, but the consensus- and market-driven approach is inhibiting this transformation. This thesis reviews how various discourses and debates on energy policy within Swedish governments have changed between 1974 and 2017, through the lenses of energy security and depoliticisation, and how a better understanding of these debates and discourses may inform the impending large-scale transformation required to meet the challenge of climate change. Some of the main findings are that (1) nuclear power and the result of the nuclear power referendum have been decisive for energy policy, and that nuclear power will remain of vital importance in the twenty-first century. (2) Energy has become increasingly depoliticised since the 1980s, ensuing the referendum on nuclear power. (3) The discourse on energy security has shifted towards market-based solutions: in the 2000s, climate change is to be mitigated through consumer- oriented solutions such as green certificates. Through privatisation, it essentially has become up to the consumer, deciding whether to participate in mitigation of climate change.

Amorcée en 2002 avec la mise en place d’un régime financier d’encadrement basé sur un système de tarifs de rachat de l’électricité, la politique photovoltaïque au sol (PVS) vient enrichir les politiques énergie-climat françaises, devenues depuis des politiques publiques de transition énergétique. Ces politiques se déploient dans un contexte d’ouverture à la concurrence associée à la libéralisation des marchés de l’électricité, de fractionnement des moyens de production et de dévolution croissante de compétences « électriciennes » aux acteurs territoriaux publics favorisant une multiplication et une diversification des acteurs intervenants dans le système électrique français. Ces mutations ont amorcé un processus de territorialisation des EnR et dessinent une nouvelle géographie de l’électricité. Cette thèse interroge la place des territoires dans la transition énergétique, dans une analyse du processus de territorialisation de la politique publique PVS en France, et discute de l’émergence d’une nouvelle géographie de l’électricité. Elle articule une étude de la géographie des unités PVS en activité au 31 décembre 2015 dans les territoires du sud de la France avec une analyse actorielle de la diffusion spatiale de ces nouvelles infrastructures industrielles. Elle propose pour ce faire une typologie des acteurs-initiateurs PVS et une typologie des opérateurs-exploitants PVS permettant de mettre en évidence les nouveaux acteurs électriciens du système électrique français métropolitain. Elle propose plus largement une étude des systèmes de régulation et des jeux d’acteurs à l’œuvre dans les territoires PVS révélant le processus de territorialisation de cette EnR. / Began in 2002 with the establishment of a financial supervisory regime based on a system of feed-in tariffs, the photovoltaic public policy on the ground enriches French energy and climate public policy, which have since become public policies for “low carbon” energy transition. These policies are deployed in a context of openness to competition associated with the liberalization of the European national markets for electricity, means splitting production and increasing devolution of "Electricians" powers to public territorial players favoring multiplication and diversification of actors involved in the metropolitan French electrical system. These changes have initiated a process of territorialization of renewable energy and create a new geography of electricity.This thesis questions the place of the territories in the "low carbon" energy transition, in an analysis of regionalization of public policy photovoltaic ground process in France, and discusses the emergence of a new geography of electricity. It articulates a study of the geography of photovoltaic ground units in operation on 31 December 2015 in the southern territories of France with an actorial analysis of the spatial distribution of these new industrial infrastructures. It proposes to do this a typology of photovoltaic ground initiators-actors and a typology of photovoltaic ground developers-operators to highlight the new electric actors of the metropolitan French electrical system. It offers a wider study of regulatory systems and sets of actors at work in the implementation of photovoltaic ground territories revealing the territorialization process of this renewable energy.