09
Mar
Between isolation and connectedness: understanding energy islands through the island-ness lens
Prof Yael Parag
Monday 09 Mar 2026 | Oxford Martin School, Lecture Theatre
Energy systems are often defined by physical boundaries and framed as either connected (interconnected grids) or isolated (energy islands), yet this binary view obscures how they actually operate and are governed. To move beyond this limitation, the concept of “island-ness” is introduced as a socio-technical analytical lens capturing varying degrees of isolation and connectedness across systems — from spacecraft, energy [...]

