Abstract

Nowadays, the sustainability of micro-grids has received much attention in the research community since micro-grids are becoming an appealing alternative to provide clean energy access to rural communities, and by this token, contribute to overcome energy poverty. The aim of this paper was to investigate the sustainability of micro-grids through the analysis of their resilience. In this regard, an integrated framework was developed combining socio-technical transitions with socio-ecological resilience concepts. This allows to pay attention at once to two dimensions of micro-grid sustainability: (i) the ability of the micro-grid to effectively transform the relationship between community, energy, and territory to make it more sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms; (ii) the sustainability of the micro-grid itself, namely, its ability to endure, adapt to and recover from changes in contextual factors which may limit its operativity over time. Methodological guidelines are offered for the participatory co-construction and monitoring of the micro-grid and its monitoring, supporting both dimensions. To illustrate our proposal, the micro-grid installed in Huatacondo, north of Chile, was used as test-bed.