Mediators of change: Intermediaries in India's compressed biogas niche

Abstract

A novel socio-technical niche requires alignment between various actors and institutions for growth. Intermediaries can be crucial in facilitating such alignments, especially where cross-sectoral interactions are essential for the niche's development. Compressed biogas is an emerging socio-technical niche in India that is constituted by actors and institutions spread across the agriculture and energy sectors. This study explores the identities and roles of intermediaries involved in developing India's nascent compressed biogas niche. Based on semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders, the study found that the intermediaries carried out three crucial functions for niche development. First, they helped to ensure the feedstock availability for compressed biogas production by maintaining a well-functioning cross-sectoral supply chain. Second, they helped align the regime-level institutions to the niche's needs. Third, they helped in expanding the geographical footprint of the niche. Based on empirical findings, the study proposes an analytical framework to illustrate different dimensions of intermediation for niche development in socio-technical transitions. The framework can help future research explore intermediaries' multi-faceted role in socio-technical niche development, especially in multi-system transitions.