Analyzing Sustainability of Community-based Energy Technologies

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Abstract
Contemporary society has become dependent on energy sources for its continued development and very existence. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that energy development and management techniques are unsustainable given current practices. This paper evaluates the sustainability status of community-based energy technologies. Sustainability assessments usually focus on the immediate impacts of technology. This paper introduces a new methodology to posit a broader definition of true sustainability by examining a time-tested criterion, as well as environmental, economic, and social variants, to assess the sustainability of participatory energy development techniques. This research shows that community-based energy technologies, especially biodiesel and direct solar energy, are sustainable, considering their time-tested functionality and ecological, economic, and societal considerations.