What is energy democracy? Connecting social science energy research and political theory

Veelen, Bregje van; Horst, Dan van der

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2018.06.010

Cited by 186 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…(Jenkins et al 2016). Energy democracy, on the other hand, is aimed at the involvement of citizens in the energy sector as 'energy citizens' [16]. For the energy transition, this implies that costs and benefits are distributed evenly amongst energy citizens.…”

Section: Role and Function Of Energy Justice Energy Democracy And Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[28,29] Energy democracy focuses on collective, substantive participation of citizens in energy projects (cf. the citizen energy community as referred to in the recast Energy Directive) [16,30]. Energy democracy is aimed at reforming the current organization and decision-making process in the energy sector by advocating reform, showing a link with the principle of democracy.…”

Section: The Principles Of Good Governance Energy Democracy and Enermentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Energy Transition: Democracy, Justice and Good Regulation of the Heat Market

Lavrijssen

Vitéz

2020

Energies

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This paper discusses whether the concepts of energy democracy, energy justice and the principles of good market regulation could play a role in developing a more consistent approach towards the regulation of the energy sector. It is concluded that the principles of good regulation can provide a useful framework within which advantages and disadvantages can be weighed of regulatory choices to be made when modernizing the regulation of the energy markets. A case study of the Dutch heat market is used as an example, showing that a lot remains to be gained in terms of flexible regulation and supervision and the facilitation of citizen participation. Both energy democracy and energy justice call for this. The lack of flexibility in the current regulatory framework could lead to ineffective and disproportionate regulation, hindering a sustainable, reliable and affordable development of the heat market. A larger need for flexibility is justified because of the differences between the types of heat networks. Customized solutions regarding unbundling and third-party access, including the modernization of the heat market, also require sufficient discretionary powers for the independent regulator that do not hinder but in fact stimulate the development of the heat market. Furthermore, increased citizen-participation is important in light of energy justice and energy democracy, which are energy specific concepts that overarch the principles of good regulation in the energy sector. Both concepts are based on the awareness that the energy transition is a matter for all citizens of the European Union and should not be ignored by policymakers and independent regulators. Since it is likely that most heat consumers will remain locked in for a relatively long time in natural monopolies facilitated by older generation heat networks and a lack of alternatives, substantive citizen-participation could yield positive results regarding community engagement in heat network management and heat supply.

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Section: Role and Function Of Energy Justice Energy Democracy And Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Principles Of Good Governance Energy Democracy and Enermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Energy Transition: Democracy, Justice and Good Regulation of the Heat Market

Lavrijssen

Vitéz

2020

Energies

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“…This move has allowed EJ to increase its influence in policy-making and, especially, in key fields of food, water, energy and climate (Agyeman et al, 2016). Despite the expanding scope of EJ, until recently the questions on energy, justice and democracy have not been tackled as a major concern, neither by the movement nor the academic field (Hess and Ribeiro, 2016;van Veelen and van der Horst, 2018).…”

Section: Environmental Justice and Waste Incineration: A Brief Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wasting Democracy, Fueling Dissent: Refuse-Derived Fuels in Can Sant Joan (Catalonia)

Cayuela

Turhan

2019

Front. Energy Res.

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The cement industry is one of the most energy intensive in the world, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. The use of refuse-derived fuels (RDF) in cement kilns is increasingly portrayed as a sustainable solution to reduce emissions while dealing with different types of waste. Nevertheless, the use of RDF in cement plants is contested by communities around the world, who are facing immediate environmental impacts. In this article, we examine the burgeoning movement against waste incineration in cement kilns legitimized as energy recovery. We start by revisiting the environmental justice literature, which laid the groundwork for the contemporary anti-RDF movement. Then, in order to highlight the energy dimension of RDF we focus on two energy-related concepts: energy justice and energy democracy. Through the case study of Can Sant Joan (Catalonia), we assess the suitability and usefulness of these concepts with the local movement against waste incineration. Our analysis suggests that the movement against RDF use can be further energized and strengthened by expanding into the realm of energy democracy. Both the anti-RDF and the energy democracy movement share a focus on the local scale, have similar typology of stakeholders involved, and favor a strong bottom-up approach while paying attention to unequal power relations. We also observe that these movements can mutually benefit from being better integrated with one another. Finally, we propose that a potential alliance between the Plataforma Antiincineració de Montcada i Reixac (PAMiR) and the Xarxa per la Sobirania Energètica (Xse) in Catalonia, can mobilize fruitful internal tensions toward a more inclusive and democratic future.

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“…Despite their cosmopolitan and universalistic pretensions, sustainable (energy) transitions are always deeply politically and ethically-laden (Shove and Walker, 2007;Delina and Janetos, 2018;Roberts et al, 2018): they involve a plurality of ways to "frame" the transition-and coincidently, different forms of ordering and prioritizing the interests of distinct actors- (Meadowcroft, 2009) and a multiplicity of different, controversial, and sometimes incommensurable perspectives (Smith and Stirling, 2007;Delina and Janetos, 2018). Within this context, scholars have been paying increasing attention to the conditions and challenges of democratizing energy governance, especially by increasing public participation and influence in energy-related decision-making (Schaube et al, 2018;van Veelen and van der Horst, 2018).…”

Section: Participation and The Democracy Of Energy Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participatory Energy Transitions as Boundary Objects: The Case of Chile's Energía2050

et al. 2018

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This paper analyzes the use of "participatory futures" within the context of energy transition, paying special attention to the case of Chile's long-term energy policy. Our main aim is to question the role of "participation" in such a context and particularly, to decouple the operative function of participation from its normative function. Structurally, we argue that the construction of a joint vision of desired energy futures must be understood as a deliberate attempt at governing the energy transition by way of governing the expectations of the actors and systems involved in it. Participatory approaches can promote the co-construction of such energy futures in the form of a boundary-object, able to resonate with and provide a common reference to the actors participating in its creation. On the other hand, participatory approaches can also be a way to make transitions more democratic, subjecting it to a broader influence and control from the citizenship. These two functions of "participation" are always potentially at odds with one another. Democratizing the transition, in fact, would require producing plural, dynamical imaginaries that are responsive and accountable to the public. On the contrary, the need to make transitions governable may close-up such imaginaries and narrow-down the participatory efforts to foster their normalization and acceptability on the part of the most influential actors in the self-government of the transition. To refine and exemplify our proposal, we perform a qualitative, exploratory case study of Chile's E2050 energy policy. Our findings show that "participation" may indeed have been used in the case to align partially conflicting expectations around a collectively-defined boundary object which may then act as a form of contextual, anticipatory and polycentric governance of the transition. However, from a democratic perspective, E2050 appears as a tokenization of the public in support of a pre-eminently technical and monolithic vision enacted by the Energy Ministry and the Consultative Committee. Within this context, the actual influence of the public on the policy and the possibility for political contestation are much more questionable.

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What is energy democracy? Connecting social science energy research and political theory

Cited by 186 publications

References 49 publications

The Energy Transition: Democracy, Justice and Good Regulation of the Heat Market

The Energy Transition: Democracy, Justice and Good Regulation of the Heat Market

Wasting Democracy, Fueling Dissent: Refuse-Derived Fuels in Can Sant Joan (Catalonia)

Participatory Energy Transitions as Boundary Objects: The Case of Chile's Energía2050

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