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In this article, we explore the sustainability potential of an alternative commons-based mode of production called cosmolocalism. Cosmolocal production combines global knowledge production with local physical production. Such a production mode has been applied across the globe for locally manufacturing small wind turbines (SWTs) for rural electrification. We assess the sustainability of such cosmolocal SWTs in a case study of electrifying a rural community in Ethiopia. In this context, the life cycles of five SWT alternatives have been compared, ranging from conventional industrially produced turbines to open-source locally manufactured and maintained ones. Our case study indicates that the local manufacturing and maintenance of SWTs offer significant advantages and may redeem small wind turbines as a sustainable component for rural electrification. Specifically, the fully cosmolocal alternative (A1) performs better than any other alternative in technical, environmental, and social criteria, while it is close to the best-performing alternative with regard to economic objectives. For this solution to be implemented, the institutional burden cannot be neglected, but can rather be considered a sine qua non condition for locally manufactured and maintained SWTs. A set of generic institutional interventions to create favourable conditions for cosmolocal production is proposed, which needs to be elaborated in a context-specific manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capitalism is evidently the main cause of ecological degradation, climate change and social inequality. Degrowth as a counter-hegemony opposes the capitalist imperatives of economic growth and capital accumulation and radically seeks to transform society towards sustainability. This has strong political economic implications. Economic organisations and modes of production are essential in overcoming capitalist hegemony. This article investigates two commons-based peer production (CBPP) organisations in a qualitative case study by asking how they could align with degrowth counter-hegemony to help overcome capitalism. Social systems theory is used as an organisational lens to empirically research decision premises and their degrowth counter-hegemonic alignment. The results show that this alignment is possible in relatively small organisations. However, to help degrowth succeed, CBPP needs to be more widely adopted, for which larger organisations seem better equipped. Future studies focusing on the concept of scaling wide in CBPP networks in the context of degrowth counter-hegemony are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, the local manufacturing of small wind turbines has become a common approach in rural electrification applications, especially among international networks of renewable energy practitioners. Locally manufactured small wind turbines (LMSWTs) used in off-grid battery based renewable energy systems, typically utilize coreless axial flux permanent magnet generators (AFPMGs) due to their simple manufacturing. Typically, low cost three phase uncontrolled diode bridge rectifiers are used for the direct coupling of the AFPMG to the battery bank, which increases significantly the total harmonic distortion (THD) content in the stator current. LMSWT users have occasionally reported AFPMG noise as contributing to the overall acoustic noise emissions of the small wind turbine, especially during low wind speeds. In this paper the relation between current harmonics and acoustic noise emissions in AFPMGs is investigated and verified experimentally, while appropriate passive filtering techniques are utilized in order to reduce their effect. Furthermore, the overall acoustic noise emissions of a LMSWT are measured experimentally in the field and are compared to noise standards for residential areas. Finally, electromagnetic and aerodynamic sources of acoustic noise are investigated experimentally in the field, while design recommendations are developed for LMSWTs towards the reduction of acoustic noise emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging discussion about the sustainability potential of distributed production is the starting point for this paper. The focus is on the “design global, manufacture local” model. This model builds on the conjunction of the digital commons of knowledge and design with desktop and benchtop manufacturing technologies (from three-dimensional printers and laser cutters to low-tech tools and crafts). Two case studies are presented to illustrate three interlocked practices of this model for degrowth. It is argued that a “design global, manufacture local” model, as exemplified by these case studies, seems to arise in a significantly different political economy from that of the conventional industrial model of mass production. “Design global, manufacture local” may be seen as a platform to bridge digital and knowledge commons with existing physical infrastructures and degrowth communities, in order to achieve distributed modes of collaborative production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]