Sustainable rural electrification: harnessing a cosmolocal windSustainable rural electrification: harnessing a cosmolocal wind Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2023-09-082022enThis research was funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the HFRI PhD Fellowship grant (Fellowship Number: 632).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.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Energies1513Troullaki_et_al_Energies_15(13)_2022.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2023-09-08application/pdf2.2 MBfree Troullaki Aikaterini Τρουλλακη Αικατερινη Rozakis Stylianos Ροζακης Στυλιανος Latoufis Kostas Giotitsas, Chris Priavolou, Christina, 1990- Freire Fausto MDPI Sustainability Life cycle assessment Integrated assessment Small wind turbines Rural electrification Commons-based peer production Sustainable production