Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original research and review articles examining the relationship between energy systems and society. ERSS covers a range of topics revolving around the intersection of energy technologies, fuels, and resources on one side; and social processes and influences – including communities of energy users, people affected by energy production, social institutions, customs, traditions, behaviors, and policies – on the other. Put another way, ERSS investigates the social system surrounding energy technology and hardware. ERSS is of relevance for energy practitioners, researchers interested in the social aspects of energy production or use, and policymakers.
Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS) provides an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of how social and technical issues related to both energy production and consumption interact. Energy production, distribution, and consumption all have both technical and human components, and the latter involve the human causes and consequences of energy-related activities and processes as well as social structures that shape how people interact with energy systems. Energy analysis therefore needs to look beyond the dimensions of technology and economics to include these social and human elements.