Table 1 Some problems of transitions era and their proposed solutions in SESs

Socio-technical

(Mis)trust, justice, and reliability/Lack of information and awareness, Lack of trust,

perception of risks and (social) uncertainty [56,57,58,59,60]

1. Communicate with the general public as clearly and as transparently as possible.

2. Presenting knowledge about the ‘bigger picture’ and an awareness of the future vision regarding SGs.

3. Optimizing the appeal of both the individual and societal benefits of adopting SGs [54]

4. Building trust and goodwill in planning and energy policymaking [55]

Socio-security

Security attacks on assets, data, network and applications [53]

An identity-based security mechanism (I-ICAAAN), a secure communication protocol and an Intelligent Security System for Energy Management (ISSEM) [53]

Lack of environmental awareness, related to energy system [61, 62]

Using stories about ‘energy utopia, to engage groups and individuals, to imagine possible futures [61]

Definition of PCG membership categories and the pre-qualification criteria [65]

Studying prosumers’ energy behaviors throughout the year, to define the optimal community groups and associated prequalification criteria [65]

Data privacy, and big Data Security Threats in (internet of things) IoT-Based SG Communications [63] [45]

1. Using a layered defense model for distributed energy resources security [63]

2. Hiding load signatures [64]

Socio-economic

1. High incremental costs for enabling individual residential end-consumer

2. Higher capital costs of

hybrid and fuel cell EVs for making them beneficial to V2G aggregators

3. Low residential consumer awareness of dynamic electricity price

4. High business cost of highly skilled technical staff [45]

5. High production costs due to the high electricity price, affecting the market price competitive level [40]

Using third- party online specifically designed platforms [66]

Definition of an optimal set of prosumer community goals [65]

Effective negotiation to define practically achievable goals for prosumer groups [65]

Ranking prosumers based on an assessment criteria for fair incentive distribution [65]

Ranking prosumer behaviors based on assessment criteria [65]

Socio-technical aspect of management

Lack of support in existing energy institutions for emerging socio-technical relation [55]

Designing a socio- technical system that has new scientific, technical, socio-economic and organizational components [55]

Clustering model of prosumer community [67]

SIoE [67]

Joint planning, optimization control, state estimation and generalized demand side management [44]

An integrated modeling method for integrated energy distribution system (IEDS) [44]

Lack of social acceptance of SG [55, 69,70,71,72]

1. Environmental framing in the socio-political acceptance of SG technologies [70]

2. Exploring future generations’ imaginaries, dreams, utopias or dystopias about energy systems [71]

3. Improving local co-ownership and increasing awareness of local benefits [69]

3.1. Highlighting the community identity factors such as ownership and community involvement 3.2. Increasing social opportunities for meaningful deliberation in decision-making [55]

Social aspects of techno-economic

The delay in shifting role from consumer to prosumer in the SESs domain because of regulatory barriers and high transaction costs for SESs [68, 69]

Community energy projects [68]

Fundamental research

Lack of clarity over definitions and boundaries between the concept of SG, smart energy technologies and green technology [62]

Interdisciplinary [18] and multidisciplinary approaches [19, 20]

Culture-geographical

Western approaches to energy access and justice [73]

Expansion of non- Western approaches to energy access and justice [73]

Socio-political

Lack of public participation and community involvement in energy systems [74]

1. Creation of common narratives to motivate communities to participate

2. “To revitalize civic culture which requires a strong concept

of democracy relying on a step change in participatory processes” [74]

3. Energy democracy [75]

User disappointment, privacy concerns, and division of roles in the household [77]

Increasing awareness and information [77]

socio-political acceptance: Regulatory framework and Government standards [76]

Strong interaction with stakeholders [76]

Not applying social scientific knowledge in energy transition [55, 78]

Green nudges and new social configurations [78, 79], Serious games [80], simulation games [81]

Techno-social

Coexistence of discrete systems in a continuous world with high uncertainty [19]

Integration in society 5.0 [78]