Personifying the Energy Transition: Unveiling Eindhoven's Voices

Abstract

This thesis explores the development of energy transition personas to inform the development process of energy transition projects in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The research addresses the challenges of end user acceptance and participation in the transition away from natural gas consumption. By employing grounded theory, an inductive and flexible data collection and analysis methodology, 26 participants (both expert stakeholders and residents of Eindhoven) were interviewed. This methodology yielded three framings that form the context of the energy transition in Eindhoven. 1. The willingness and ability to take action in forming one's energy future is dependent on the time span that is perceived by this individual. 2. Most participants are not concerned with sustainable energy, in that they have minimal knowledge and interest in their energy sources, distribution systems, storage, etc. Most people are more interested in end-of-pipe solutions within their homes that lead to energy efficiency, lowering the energy bill, and changes in consumption behavior. 3. The energy transition is a social transition. The barriers and enablers for the progression of energy developments are mainly financial, communicational, and community-oriented. These theories are used to create the Energy Transition Persona framework, which is a methodology to represent a community's needs, behaviors, mindsets, and resources. This framework is applied in the empirical context of Eindhoven, which yielded six personas divided into age, housing status, and general attitude, ranging from young adults to elderly people and from homeowners to renters. All in all, this research provides insights into how to represent users' values, lifestyles, and preferences. The study gives direction to various academic and empirical research agendas, as well as guidelines on how to bring the Energy Transition Persona framework into practice to enhance customer journeys, participation strategies, and a better alignment between technologies and their users.