Scaling resilience: leveraging energy resources towards community resilience

In an era marked by increasing vulnerability to natural disasters, economic instability, and the uncertainties of climate change, increasing resilience has become a critical objective for sustainable development. This study investigates the concept of scaling community resilience, focusing on the strategies that support communities thriving under uncertainty. It employs a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from engineering, social sciences, and environmental studies, to develop a comprehensive understanding of resilience at the community level. The study conceptualizes community energy resilience and explores its characteristic components, including energy diversity, redundancy, decentralization, and social equity. It examines the challenges and opportunities associated with scaling these components within community contexts, with particular emphasis on rural and underserved areas. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach, taking into consideration the need for establishing contextual nuances. The qualitative analysis provides insights into factors that can influence resilience outcomes and drive scaling objectives. The Sitolo Solar PV system developed in rural Malawi provided the suitable case study for this research. Findings reveal that although technological advancements play a vital role in improving community resilience, scaling is not a straightforward task, especially under the considerations of resilience. This requires an intentional, guided approach heavily dependent on community engagement, policy frameworks, and cross-sectoral collaboration. Several key enablers of scaling were identified, including the importance of local governance, the role of public-private partnerships, and the need for adaptive regulatory environments. Furthermore, the study highlights the challenges of scaling resilience, such as financial constraints, regulatory barriers, and the complex interplay of socio-technical systems. This study advances existing knowledge in two key dimensions: (1) it examines the role of innovation in enhancing resilience across different community spatial scales, and (2) it introduces a novel support model for assessing and scaling community resilience, providing a framework to guide the design and implementation of large-scale resilience strategies. It emphasizes the importance of a community-centered approach to resilience, advocating for strategies that are not only technically robust but also socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.