Social dimensions of smart grid: Regional analysis in Canada and the United States. Introduction to special issue of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

This special issue of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reviews is focused on the social and policy dimensions of smart grids, an emerging set of technologies and practices which have the potential to transform dramatically electricity systems around the world. The six related articles explore social and political dynamics associated with smart grid deployment in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. Aspects examined in this special issue include the evolution of smart grid policy in Ontario, media coverage of smart grid experiences in Canada and smart grid approaches being taken in Québec. Other aspects covered include an analysis of smart grid systems planning post-Superstorm Sandy (that hit the Northeastern coast of the USA in 2012), the environmental framing of socio-political acceptance of the smart grid in British Columbia, and news coverage of the smart grid in the USA and Canada. These articles were supported by collaborative research from the National Science Foundation in the USA and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in Canada which involved three expert workshops held in Canada in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The six articles were accepted after a vigorous review process overseen by the guest editors of this special issue. The contents are in keeping with the aims and scope of the journal which is to bring together under one roof the current advances in the ever broadening field of renewable and sustainable energy.