Schedule 9th International Degrowth Conference

Contentions associated with the transition of the energy sector towards renewable energy (RE) sources stem from different sociotechnical imaginaries of future energy systems. This presentation focuses on contentions over RE ownership models among stakeholders from industry, academia, civil society, and public sector in Ireland. It argues that sociotechnical imaginaries of RE ownership models are based on assumptions and beliefs about the public, i.e. the imaginaries of public. Based on the qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with stakeholders we identified two imaginaries of public – the energy consumer and the energy citizen; and two perspectives on RE ownership models – the instrumental perspective and the perspective looking to “open-up” the space of energy transition through ownership models.
Instrumental perspectives on ownership were grounded on the imaginary of public as energy consumer, i.e. as self-interested, economically rational individual. They emphasised private ownership over RE technologies and consumers’ ownership of their own energy consumption patterns. Likewise, ownership shares between developers and communities were suggested as means suitable for securing public acceptance of renewable energy infrastructure. Perspectives looking to “open-up” the space RE ownership models were based on the imaginary of public as energy citizens, i.e. as political actors and agents of change with collective agency to take active part in the energy transition, and emphasis was on local and public ownership models such as energy cooperatives and remunicipalisation initiatives. The societal processes underlying co-production between imaginaries of public and RE ownership models will be discussed.

Info

Day: 2023-09-01
Start time: 12:45
Duration: 00:15
Room: ZV-KC-1
Type: Paper Presentation
Theme: Technology and science for degrowth

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