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Bregje van Veelen, photo.

Bregje van Veelen

Associate senior lecturer

Bregje van Veelen, photo.

Negotiating energy democracy in practice : governance processes in community energy projects

Author

  • Bregje Van Veelen

Summary, in English

There is a growing ‘energy democracy’ (ED) movement which regards the transition to renewable energy as an opportunity for socio-economic transformation, as well as technological innovation. The literature on ED tends to associate greater democratic control of energy systems with increased community control over the means of energy generation and distribution. Nonetheless, this literature often assumes rather than demonstrates that the forms of governance it promotes are more democratic than the status quo. This analysis contributes to the emerging field of ED by assessing the complex and varied ways in which communities in Scotland practise energy governance. By focusing on three key governance processes (decision-making, accountability and dispute resolution), the importance of local contexts for the establishment and negotiation of democratic practices is demonstrated. This local specificity, however, also raises further questions regarding the universal applicability of the ED concept.

Publishing year

2018-07-04

Language

English

Pages

644-665

Publication/Series

Environmental Politics

Volume

27

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Topic

  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
  • Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
  • Energy Systems

Keywords

  • community governance
  • Energy democracy
  • energy governance
  • inclusivity
  • Scotland

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0964-4016