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- School of Social Science
Biography
David Toke was a late starter in academia. Previously he worked in journalism and school teaching. He studied for a Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) at Birmingham University before becoming a Research Fellow and then Senior Lecturer there. He joined the University of Aberdeen in 2013 as Reader.
He has had over 50 papers published in refereed journals as well as six monograph books (all but one single-authored). His latest book, (with other co-authors) is entitled 'Nuclear Power in Stagnation: A Cultural Approach to Failed Expansion'. He has had over 3100 citations according to 'ResearchGate'. He has engaged in many research programmes funded by the ESRC (5), the EU (2), the Leverhulme Trust (2) the British Academy, and Scottish Insight.
He is now Principal Investigator for the ESRC-funded project 'Solar Power in the UK –Planning for a Sustainable Future'. This runs for two and a half years. See https://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/research/solar-planning/
He has also published three public interest books on energy policy. He has written many influential reports for different NGOs. His work, including a report published by the World Future Council, proved to be a prime early influence (in 2007-2008) leading to the adoption of a system of feed-in tariffs for smaller renewable energy projects in the UK. He also has produced reports published by Friends of the Earth, The Green Parties of England and Wales and Scotland and has written a number of articles for newspapers and magazines ranging from The Guardian to Energy Economist.
His 'green energy blog' has been highly regarded since 2010, see https://davidtoke.substack.com/. He has led the formation of 100percentrenewableuk, see https://100percentrenewableuk.org/. His new public interest book is 'Energy Revolutions - profiteering versus democracy' (Pluto Press) - see https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745349268/energy-revolutions/
Qualifications
- PhD Political Science2001 - University of Birmingham
The thesis was entitled 'The Politics of Sustainable Energy'
- Research
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Research Overview
- Planning and financing of renewable energy
- Energy Policy, various aspects of renewable energy and energy efficiency policy, nuclear power and particularly onshore and offshore wind power focusing on planning issues and financial support mechanisms
- Environmental policy, focusing on decision making and governance issues, including ecological modernisation theory
- Particular theories of governance including policy network theory, usage of discourse, rational choice and interest group theory
- Food and countryside issues, especially foxhunting and The Countryside Alliance
Current Research
My main area of academic research is to organise, as Principal Investigator, the ESRC funded project 'Solar Power in the UK - Planning for a Sustainable Future'. This began on June 1st 2023 and runs for two and a half years. The focus is on explaining how outcomes of planning applications occur with an emphasis on looking at how outcomes of debates about the applications occur. There are three other co-investigators, Jo Vergunst, Kathrin Thomas and Paula Duffy, and two Research Fellows, Constanza Concetti and Mohsin Hussain.
I am researching for a book entitled 'Energy Revolutions - profiteering versus democracy' which will be published by Pluto Press
I am also research the politics and policy of 100 per cent renewable energy systems
Collaborations
there were His most recent collaborations are:
a) He worked with academics form various universities to produce a Special Issue of the journal 'Environmental Politics' on the subject of the interaction of climate change and energy security. He has co-edited this Special Issue with Sevasti-Eleni Vezirgiannidou of the University of Birmingham. The Special Issue appeared in the July edition of 'Environmental Politics', and includes two papers where he is an author. See http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/fenp20/22/4#.UuzoktGPO1s
b) As mentioned earlier (see biography), he has also been collaborating with academics from Cardiff University, Queens University Belfast and Robert Gordon University on the ESRC funded project 'Delivering Renewable Energy Under Devolution' (DREUD). He is the lead author of the first output published in a journal, in the Political Quarterly. This is about renewable energy and the Scottish independence debate. See http://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/scottish-renewable-energy-targets-may.html This paper received considerable press attention. However, after this significant developments occurred in the UK energy policies, especially decisions taken by the UK Government concerning Electricity Market Reform, and this prompted a re-think of these conclusions. This re-think can be seen at http://issuu.com/therobertgordonuniversity/docs/the_dreud_report_2013
c) As mentioned above he is collaborating with political scientists from Oregon State Univeristy in the USA to research the politics of advocacy of solar power.
Funding and Grants
- Solar Power in the UK –Planning for a Sustainable Future - Principal Investigator of project funded by ESRC which began on June 1st 2023 and runs for two and a half years
- COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN A JUST TRANSITION TO NET ZERO IN THE NORTH-EAST OF SCOTLAND - co-investigator of project funded by Scottish Universities Insight Institute which ran from 2021-2022
- Leverhulme Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Materials - co-investigator of project funded by Leverhulme Trust based at the University of Aberdeen Department of Chemical Engineering, 2018-2022
- Delivering Renewable Energy Under Devolution (co-investigator in project funded by ESRC which began in January 2011 and which finished at the end of January 2013)
- SEANERGY 2020- investigating and disseminating best practice in marine spatial planning for offshore renewables (partner in 2 year ALTENER project funded by the EU which started in May 2010)
- Offshore wind power planning issues (funded by ASSC small grant from University of Bimringham - 2009)
- EU Renewable Directive (funded privately by commission from World Future Council- 2007-2008)
- Feed in Tariffs and UK energy strategy (funded privately by commission form World Future Council - 2007)
- The use of combined heat and power as a means of integrating high levels of fluctuating renewable energy sources into the electricity grid (funded through DESIRE EU FP6 programme, 2005-2007)
- The Politics of the Countryside Alliance (funded through ESRC, 2005)
- The Politics of Food and Farming (funded through Leverhulme Trust, 2004)
- Accounting for the Outcome of Windfarm Planning Applications (funded through ESRC, 2002-2005)
- A comparison of GM food policies in EU and US (funded through British Academy, 2003)
- The Politics of GM Food (funded through ESRC, 2001-2002)
- Publications
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UK Electricity Market Reform - revolution or much ado about nothing?
Energy Policy, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 7609-7611Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.08.061
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/2766/1/Viewpoint.doc
Ecological Modernisation and Renewable Energy
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. 202 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksThe UK offshore wind power programme: A sea-change in UK energy policy?
Energy Policy, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 526-534Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEcological modernisation, social movements and renewable energy
Environmental Politics, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 60-77Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2011.538166
Politics by heuristics: Policy networks with a focus on actor resources, as illustrated by the case of renewable energy policy under New Labour
Public Administration, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 764-781Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01839.x
Exploring the landscape of wind farm developments: local area characteristics and planning process outcomes in rural England
Land Use Policy, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 214-221Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.05.006
Foxhunting and the Conservatives
Political Quarterly, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 205-212Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2010.02087.x
Ecological modernisation as bureaucracy: organic food and its certification in the UK and India
International Journal of Green Economics, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 313-326Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGE.2010.037531
Assessing national patterns of wind ownership
Wind Power and Power Politics: International Perspectives. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 1-17, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersAssessing the performance of the UK renewables obligation: Cinderella or an ugly sister?
Wind Power and Power Politics: International Perspectives. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 140-167, 28 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203886427-14/assessing-performance-uk-renewables-obligation-cinderella-ugly-sister-afolabi-otitoju-peter-strachan-david-toke?context=ubx&refId=99e8d027-c8ef-47b3-b0db-342f04fb313e
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203886427
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Wind power and power politics: International perspectives
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 212 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203886427
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Policy Networks and the Distinction between Insider and Outsider Groups: The Case of the Countryside Alliance
Public Administration, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 621-638Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2009.01765.x
EU renewable energy support policy: faith or facts?
Energy Policy, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 2143-2146Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.02.043
Trading schemes, risks, and costs: the cases of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Renewables Obligation
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 938-953Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/c0728j
The EU Renewables Directive - What is the fuss about trading?
Energy Policy, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 3001-3008Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.04.008
Wind power deployment outcomes: How can we account for the differences?
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1129–1147Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2006.10.021
Do liberalised electricity markets help or hinder CHP and district heating? The case of the UK
Energy Policy, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1448-1456Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.12.021
Comparing Market-Based Renewable Energy Regimes: The Cases of the UK and Japan
International Journal of Green Energy, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 409-425Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15435070701465748
Anglo-Saxon and German approaches to neo-liberalism and environmental policy: the case of financing renewable energy
Geoforum, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 677-687Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2006.11.016
Risk, genetically modified food and the US/EU divide
International Journal of Green Economics, vol. 1, no. 3/4, pp. 407-418Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGE.2007.013069
Demand reduction in the UK - with a focus on the non-domestic sector
Energy Policy, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 2131-2140Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2006.07.003
Renewable financial support systems and cost-effectiveness
Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 280-287Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.02.005
Crossing the great divide - Using multi-method analysis to understand opposition to windfarms
Public Administration, vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 103-120Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWind Power and Ecological Modernisation
European Environment, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 155-166Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.417
Are green electricity certificates the way forward for renewable energy? An evaluation of the UK’s Renewables Obligation in the context of international comparisons
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 361-375Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1068/c0414j