UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Locally Appropriate Energy Strategies for the Developing World: A focus on Clean Energy Opportunities in Borneo Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4sg7z3qt Author Shirley, Rebekah Grace Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Locally Appropriate Energy Strategies for the Developing World: A focus on Clean Energy Opportunities in Borneo by Rebekah Grace Shirley A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources and the Designated Emphasis in Energy Science and Technology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Daniel M. Kammen, Chair Professor Duncan S. Callaway Professor Nancy L. Peluso Professor Matthew Potts Fall 2015 ABSTRACT Locally Appropriate Energy Strategies for the Developing World: A focus on Clean Energy Opportunities in Borneo by Rebekah Grace Shirley Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources Designated Emphasis in Energy Science and Technology University of California Professor Daniel M. Kammen, Chair This dissertation focuses on an integration of energy modeling tools to explore energy transition pathways for emerging economies. The spate of growth in the global South has led to a global energy transition, evidenced in part by a surge in the development of large scale energy infrastructure projects for the provision of reliable electricity service. The rational of energy security and exigency often usher these large scale projects through to implementation with minimal analysis of costs: social and environmental impact, ecological risk, or opportunity costs of alternative energy transition pathways foregone. Furthermore, development of energy infrastructure is inherently characterized by the involvement of a number of state and non‐state actors, with varying interests, objectives and access to authority. Being woven through and into social institutions necessarily impacts the design, control and functionality of infrastructure. In this dissertation I therefore conceptualize energy infrastructure as lying at the intersection, or nexus, of people, the environment and energy security. I argue that energy infrastructure plans and policy should, and can, be informed by each of these fields of influence in order to appropriately satisfy local development needs. This case study explores the socio‐techno‐environmental context of contemporary mega‐dam development in northern Borneo. I describe the key actors of an ongoing mega‐dam debate and the constellation of their interaction. This highlights the role that information may play in public discourse and lends insight into how inertia in the established system may stymie technological evolution. I then use a combination of power system simulation, ecological modeling and spatial analysis to analyze the potential for, and costs and tradeoffs of, future energy scenarios. In this way I demonstrate reproducible methods that can support energy infrastructure decision making by directly addressing data limitation barriers. I offer a platform for integrated analysis that considers cost perspectives across the nexus. The management of energy transitions is a growing field, critically important to low carbon futures. With the broader implications of my study I hope to contribute to a paradigm shift away from the dominant large‐scale energy infrastructure as a means of energy security discourse, to a more encompassing security agenda that considers distributed and localized solutions. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................................... 1 LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction: The People, Environment and Energy Security Nexus ........................................................... 1 1.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Background: Energy Infrastructure as Socio-technical Systems ................................................. 1 1.3. Research Agenda ............................................................................................................................................. 4 1.4. Dissertation Overview ................................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................................................... 10 The Political Ecology of Energy Resource Management in Malaysian Borneo ....................................... 10 2.1. An Argument for the Importance of Cultural Politics in Resource Planning ........................ 11 2.2. Relevant and Emerging Political Ecology Concepts of Resource Conflict .............................. 12 2.3. Research Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.4. Hydropower Conflict in Sarawak, East Malaysia .............................................................................. 16 2.5. A History of State Claims and Mobilization Strategy ...................................................................... 21 2.6. Discussion: Implications for Redistributive Efforts in Sarawak ................................................ 37 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................................................... 40 Energy Planning and Development in Malaysian Borneo: Assessing the Benefits of Distributed Technologies versus Large Scale Energy Mega-projects .................................................................................. 40 3.1. Introduction: Mega Projects and Long Term Energy Planning .................................................. 40 3.2. Background: The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy ......................................................... 41 3.3. Methodology and Data Inputs .................................................................................................................. 43 3.4. Integration of Indirect Impacts ................................................................................................................ 54 3.5. Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 57 3.6. Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................................................................. 67 Estimating biodiversity impacts without field surveys: A case study in northern Borneo ............... 67 4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 67 4.2. Methods ............................................................................................................................................................. 68 4.3. Results ................................................................................................................................................................ 78 i 4.4. Discussion ......................................................................................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................................................... 82 Using Spatial Analysis tools to Assess Potential for Distributed Energy Resources in Data Constrained Contexts ...................................................................................................................................................... 82 5.1. Introduction: Tool for supporting optimal resource allocation ................................................. 82 5.2. Methods ............................................................................................................................................................. 82 5.3. Identifying Distributed Energy Resource Opportunities .............................................................. 88 5.4. Distributed Energy Resources for Rural Energy Supply ............................................................... 95 5.5. Discussion .....................................................................................................................................................