Sociotechnical Imaginaries and Developing a Secure Energy System for Gaza Abdullah

Abstract

As one of the key challenges that need addressing when designing an energy system, energy security has gained global attention in recent years as nations aim to provide affordable, uninterrupted availability of energy sources. Since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7th, 2023, sparked a war, the fuel and electricity blockade imposed by Israel has left Gaza with largely no access to electricity, bringing their lack of energy security into focus. With the war ongoing, the damage inflicted on infrastructure, and the forcible displacement of people, the energy system needs to be rebuilt in a secure, affordable, and credible way. As energy planning is challenging amidst this uncertainty, the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries was deployed to define and develop the collective visions of the energy future of Gaza. Drawing from interviews with Gaza energy and humanitarian experts, analysis of the region’s energy sources, and drivers of development in Gaza, the three developed imaginaries are Information, Motion, and Heat. Going beyond defining the imaginaries, a framework for achieving each one is outlined through a whole-system approach. Motion captures the need for an affordable, mobile form of energy access to enable recovery in the region, with swarm electrification the recommended methodology to achieve this vision. The limited energy access afforded by swarm electrification drives the development of Motion, which aims to rebuild a gas-centred centralised grid to replace previous diesel-dependence due to its lower cost and carbon footprint. While restoring the grid to depend on gas imports does not immediately address Gaza’s energy security, it allows for the exploration and utilization of the natural gas sources available in the Gaza Marine, the basis of the third imaginary, Heat. Enabling Gaza to explore this gas field will ultimately prove tricky amid geopolitical tensions and uncertainties around the identity of Gaza’s future governance structure. Nevertheless, the importance of gas in the east of the Mediterranean provides a platform for Gaza to build on and secure the necessary resources and agreements to enable its exploration. Gas from the Gaza Marine can help deliver diplomatic breakthroughs, unlock economic and social development, and achieve energy security in Gaza. This thesis thus creates a potential long-term pathway for Gaza to rebuild their energy system based on the developed sociotechnical imaginaries.