Solar power

Energy and labour: Thinking across the continuum

“…What is more, variations in access to energy resources create differences in the nature of work required for their circulation, and as such play a role in driving wider social disparities: not all forms of energy-related labour are created equal. Energy transitions from one fuel to another are not only predicated upon changes in the nature of work (Penna, 2019), but in a (pre- and post-) capitalist context, involve explicit efforts to exert control and dominance over workers through the agency of energy technologies and resources themselves (Malm, 2016; Nikiforuk, 2012). Notably, labour dynamics associated with fossil fuels differ greatly from those that characterize renewable resources, in terms of geographic distribution, the nature of employment and the products of work.…”

“…Here, my intention is to explore the vast realm of social reproduction, which is deeply implicated in shaping the sites and dynamics of energy demand, as well as the nature of domestic work itself. Starting from the premise that the consumption of energy has historically been closely intertwined with different forms of labour (Mouhot, 2011; Nikiforuk, 2012; Penna, 2019), I chart the various elements of this relationship across the both Global North and South, and with respect to different forms and sites of demand (biomass resources, the domestic domain, informal settlements, low-carbon transitions). I highlight how the locations and articulations of demand-enabling labour often surpass the physical boundaries of residential and industrial sites – traditionally seen as principal sites of energy consumption – by intervening in broader ‘thermodynamic flows: hastening, retarding, redirecting, collecting, converting, or producing thermal energy’ (Oppermann and Walker, 2019: 129).…”