Energy Justice, Place, Public Participation, Place Identity, Trust
Past energy transitions have been characterised by strategic geopolitical and socio-economic drivers that rarely considered issues of social justice or community cohesion that emerged from the profound systemic reconfigurations that took place. Until recently, the current transition to low-carbon energy has seen a departure of sorts, particularly in terms of the complexity of intersecting drivers involved. Consequently, there has been a widening of the roles citizens are expected to take, particularly in terms of participation and engaging with the energy system. However, differing interpretations of how these roles are to be expressed and the degree of power assigned to them has resulted in the rollout of what on the surface appear to be broadly popular renewable energy technologies meeting resistances at the local level. Place attachment – especially in terms of belonging, identity, relationships, and acceptance – has come to define localised responses to recent (inter)national energy and climate- related governance and policy frameworks. Understanding how place attachment affects the (re)negotiating of local understandings of place, and its role in sustaining narratives of resistance to locally unpopular strategic energy projects. This paper will present on findings from the SEAI-funded project, EnergyPolities and cognate work, which explored how governance structures intersect with socio-economic and key socio-cultural factors to influence the social acceptability or otherwise of the energy transition. It will also examine recent responses from powerful actors challenged by emerging citizen participation and engagement roles, and discusses the tactics used to limit the diversity of voices and perspectives in the energy transition.