Sören Becker

Whose energy transition is it, anyway? Organisation and ownership of the Energiewende in villages, cities and regions

As one of the most ambitious national energy transition initiatives worldwide, the German Energiewende is attracting a huge amount of attention globally in both policy and research circles. The paper explores the implementation of Germanys energy transition through the lens of organisation and ownership in urban and regional contexts. Following a summary of the principal institutional challenges of the Energiewende at local and regional levels the paper develops a novel way of conceptualising the institutional to urban and regional energy transitions in terms of agency and power, ideas and discourse, and commons and ownership. This analytical heuristic is applied to a two-tier empirical study of the Berlin–Brandenburg region. The first tier involves a survey of the organisational landscape of energy infrastructures and services in cities, towns and villages in Brandenburg. The second tier comprises a case study of current, competing initiatives for (re-)gaining ownership of the power grid and utility in Berlin. The paper draws conclusions on the diverse and dynamic organisational responses to the Energiewende at the local level, what these tell us about urban and regional energy governance and how they are inspired by – or in opposition to – new forms of collective ownership resonant of recent debates on reclaiming the commons. It concludes with observations on how relational approaches to institutional research and the notion of the commons can guide and inspire future research on socio-technical transitions in general, and urban energy transitions in particular.

Collective ownership in renewable energy and opportunities for sustainable degrowth

Following the renaissance of energy generation from renewable sources around the globe, it was suggested that the shift from fossil to renewable energy could potentially counter the growth orientation of economic activity. In this line of argument, small-scale technology and decentralised ownership, in the field of energy and beyond, are commonly regarded as potential precursors of a sustainable degrowth society. However, these systemic and conceptual considerations have been rarely assessed empirically. This paper wishes to address this research gap. It presents the exploratory findings of an EU-wide survey conducted in 2013 and further discusses the conceptualisation of small-scale ownership structures in renewable energy as an alternative to the community energy concept. Secondly, the paper relates the debates on degrowth to small-scale renewable energy schemes and illustrates its argument with four case studies from Wales, Italy, Spain, and Germany. These cases represent different organisational forms, diverse spatial settings, and varying national policy contexts. In its observations, this paper draws on the concept of collective and politically motivated renewable energy projects (CPE). While still mainly found in niches across Europe and essentially linked to environmental and social movements, we argue that CPE can potentially become blueprints for a turn towards a degrowth practice that will foster the democratisation of renewable energy production.

Remunicipalization in German cities: contesting neo-liberalism and reimagining urban governance?

After two decades of widespread privatization, German municipalities have started to re-purchase privatized companies. At the same time, social movements are campaigning for remunicipalization, promoting it as a means of achieving greater urban democracy, though these objectives are often divergent from those of municipalities concerned with reasserting local state autonomy. With reference to Berlin, the paper discusses how remunicipalization campaigns might contribute to post-neo-liberal urban governance. It presents a preliminary frame for developing progressive remunicipalization movements centred on three elements of contestation: rejection of neo-liberalism; connection to other and broader struggles; and commoning as an alternative form of urban governance.

Between coproduction and commons: understanding initiatives to reclaim urban energy provision in Berlin and Hamburg

This article explores new geographies of coproduction emerging in urban energy politics. It analyses processes of remunicipalisation of urban utilities, involving the re-establishment of public ownership with a strong democratic and ecological agenda for governing energy infrastructures, with case studies of the German cities of Berlin and Hamburg. Seeking ways of understanding these developments which transcend conventional binaries, such as public vs. private ownership or consumer vs. producer, we interpret them in relation to debates first about coproduction and then about urban commons. This latter concept, we argue, provides deeper analytical purchase on new grassroots energy initiatives and the politics that unfold in remunicipalisation conflicts, offering a new avenue for enriching research on the coproduction of energy.

Energiekonflikte erkennen und nutzen

Die regionale und lokale Umsetzung der bundespolitischen Beschlusse zur Energiewende ist mit erheblichen Auseinandersetzungen verbunden. In vielen, vor allem landlich gepragten Orten formieren sich Proteste gegen Anlagen erneuerbarer Energietrager oder gegen den Ausbau von Netzen. Die grose Anzahl und die Heftigkeit von energiepolitischen Konflikten wirft zwei Fragen auf. Erstens, wie die kleinraumlichen und sehr heterogenen Konflikte in ihren verallgemeinerbaren Mustern und Auspragungen verstanden werden konnen. Zweitens stellt sich die Frage, wie energiepolitische Konflikte fur die Gestaltung der kunftigen Energieversorgung produktiv gewendet und genutzt werden konnen. Der Beitrag liefert auf Grundlage der internationalen Literatur sowie von Ergebnissen des Forschungsprojekts Losung von lokalen energiepolitischen Konflikten und Verwirklichung von Gemeinwohlzielen durch neue Organisationsformen im Energiebereich (EnerLOG) erste Vorschlage, wie Konflikte erkannt, verstanden und genutzt werden konnen. Lokale energiepolitische Konflikte bieten, so unsere zentrale Aussage, nicht nur einen Zugang fur das wissenschaftliche Verstandnis von lokalen Energiewenden, sondern auch eine Gelegenheit fur die Aushandlung unterschiedlicher Vorstellungen einer nachhaltigen Regional- und Infrastrukturentwicklung.

Zur Analyse lokaler energiepolitischer Konflikte. Skizze eines Analysewerkzeugs

ZusammenfassungOb die Transformation zu einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung gelingt, wird maßgeblich auf der lokalen Ebene entschieden. Die vielen lokalen Energiewenden verlaufen jedoch nicht immer reibungslos, häufig kennzeichnen lokale Konflikte um Anlagen erneuerbarer Energien oder um neue Stromnetze deren Umsetzung. Die Frage nach ihrer öffentlichen Akzeptanz ist verbunden mit grundsätzlichen Überlegungen über die zugrunde liegenden Ziele des Einsatzes erneuerbarer Energien ebenso wie mit der Frage, wer am Ende von den neuen Infrastrukturen erneuerbarer Energien profitiert. Die Antworten darauf hängen wiederum vom Ergebnis komplexer Debatten und multilateraler Verhandlungen über das „öffentliche Interesse“ (Gemeinwohl) und von der Gewinnung neuer Organisationsformen der Energieversorgung ab. Der Beitrag stellt ein Analysewerkzeug vor, das lokale energiepolitische Konflikte mit Blick auf Gemeinwohlziele und neue Organisationsformen untersucht. Hierfür werden unterschiedliche sozialwissenschaftliche Debattenstränge miteinander verknüpft und auf materiell-sachliche, räumliche, zeitliche und akteursbezogene Fragen der Energiewende bezogen. Damit erlaubt das Analysewerkzeug eine integrative Betrachtung von energiepolitischen Konflikten, die in dieser Kombination bisher noch nicht vorgenommen wurde.AbstractThe success of the German energy transition is highly depending on developments at the local level. However, these local transitions towards a sustainable energy supply do not always run smoothly. Instead, their implementation is often troubled by local conflicts over renewable energy and new grid infrastructures. The question of public acceptance is linked to more fundamental questions such as the underlying objectives of their deployment as well as who benefits from these new facilities. These issues refer to more complex debates and negotiations on the public interest and new forms of organisations for power supply. This paper presents a tool for the analysis of local energy conflicts with special consideration of a notion of public interest and new forms of organisation. The tool links different strands of debate in the social sciences—regarding conflicts, modes of organisation and public interests—and relates them to material, spatial, temporal and actor-based issues of the energy transition. The analysis tool therefore allows an integrative reflection of energy conflicts, which has never been used in his combination so far.

Die Akteure der neuen Energielandschaften – Das Beispiel Brandenburg

Die neuen Energielandschaften sind nicht nur Produkte des derzeitigen sozio-technologischen Wandels im Rahmen der Energiewende, sondern auch ein neues Forschungsfeld. Fachwissenschaftliche Debattenbeitrage zu den neuen Energielandschaften (vgl. exemplarisch Jessel 2011; Peters 2010; Schobel 2012; Tischer 2011) thematisieren die brisanten physisch-materiellen Folgen der Energiewende, deren konflikttrachtige Sichtbarkeit im Landschaftsbild sowie juristische, gestalterische und planerische Steuerungsmoglichkeiten.

The Importance of Space: Towards a Socio-Material and Political Geography of Energy Transitions

This chapter reviews research on ways of theorizing spatial perspectives on socio-technical change in order to provide guidance for future research on the multiple geographies of energy transitions in Germany and elsewhere. Firstly, we analyse the ‘spatial turn’ in science and technology studies by tracing the genealogy of scholarship at the interface of socio-technical research and urban studies. Secondly, we focus on the spatial perspectives of energy transitions, drawing on contributions from the fields of political science, human geography and planning studies. Thirdly, we revisit selected conceptual approaches from earlier chapters to explore how they theorize the spatial dimensions of institutions, materiality and power, respectively. The chapter concludes with reflections on what this means for developing a socio-material and political geography of energy transitions.

Energy Transitions and Institutional Change: Between Structure and Agency

This first conceptual chapter focuses on the analysis of institutional change and what this can reveal about Germany’s energy transition. The authors begin with a critique of the understanding of structure and agency as defined by Anthony Giddens which has underpinned much transitions research in the past. Reflecting on recent developments in institutional theory, they draw on historical institutionalism, discursive institutionalism and the strategic-relational approach in order to discuss the importance of path dependencies, meaning contexts and strategic or structural selectivities in unpacking issues of agency behind institutional change. These three institutionalist approaches are compared and their explanatory powers for energy transitions illustrated, using the case of a recent remunicipalization process in Hamburg’s energy sector as an exemplar.

Energy Transitions and Materiality: Between Dispositives, Assemblages and Metabolisms

Building on recent interest in the ‘material turn’ in the social sciences, this chapter explores diverse ways of conceptualizing the socio-materiality of energy transitions. It selects three fields of scholarship on the co-production of material and social phenomena: dispositives, assemblages and metabolisms. It analyses each one according to common analytical criteria to assess and compare how they address socio-materiality, drawing out significant differences and areas of complementarity. The value of the three approaches in analysing energy transitions is illustrated with two empirical cases from the German Energiewende: on local energy autarky around a waste-to-energy initiative and on energy-efficient refurbishment of residential buildings. The chapter concludes with recommendations on how this knowledge can enrich future studies of energy transitions.