Energy democracy is a concept developed within the environmental justice movement that pairs the renewable energy transition with efforts to democratize the production and management of energy resources— including the social ownership of energy infrastructure, decentralization of energy systems, and expansion of public participation in energy-related policymaking. Energy democracy calls for greater participation in transitions and is being used in literature to describe an overall ongoing democratic transition. Energy democracy and climate justice are increasingly associated. Rather than view decarbonization as a purely technological challenge, energy democracy identifies the renewable energy transition as an opportunity to redistribute political and economic power toward egalitarian ends.
Energy democracy has been endorsed by community organizations, think tanks, labor unions, and NGOs as a framework for decarbonization. Energy Democracy began in western Europe between 2000 and 2010 and has become a worldwide practice and point of reference except Asia. The concept is also associated with a number of campaigns in Europe and North America calling for the municipalization of energy companies and democratization of their governance structures.
In the United States, the term “energy democracy” has become more widespread as calls for it greatly increased in the 2010s. The American branch of energy democracy builds on the foundation of a 2017 “Energy Democracy Symposium” in Utah. The number of publications on energy democracy peaked in the US in 2018, which can be correlated to a growing social demand.
Principles.
The exact definition of energy democracy is contested and the term is used to refer to a diverse set of proposals, practices, and ideas. However, advocates most often define energy democracy as embodying progressive principles they believe should guide contemporary energy policy and governance— namely social ownership, public participation, decentralization, and source information.
Social ownership.
Advocates of energy democracy support a transition toward social ownership of energy companies and infrastructure, arguing that existing privately-owned utilities are poorly-suited to undertake rapid decarbonization and address concerns of environmental justice. The call for social ownership encompasses both expansions of public ownership (i.e. municipalization and nationalization) and the promotion of forms of collective ownership (e.g. energy cooperatives).
Public participation.
Energy democracy calls for expanding public participation in the renewable energy transition and the broader functionings of the energy sector. In doing so, advocates argue that energy policy and decision-making will better incorporate local knowledge and the environmental justice concerns of local communities. Various mechanisms for public participation have been suggested, including the creation of democratically-elected energy oversight boards and the incorporation of public deliberation into the policymaking process. Globally, end user communities of community renewable energy projects are expressing a desire for increased participation and ownership, while engineers and project managers outside of a community tend to want to preserve the status quo. The need for a democratic transition in energy ownership arises from this discrepancy, as end users—"energy citizens"—of energy transitions are often underrepresented.
Decentralization.
Solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy technologies allow for energy generation to be physically decentralized; advocates of energy democracy believe this energy decentralization could be a tool for empowering local communities and deconcentrating wealth and power. By building and managing energy infrastructure at the community-scale (e.g. community wind and solar farms), communities avoid having to outsource energy generation to privately-owned utilities with regional monopolies. Additionally, advocates argue that decentralization can change community-wide relationships with energy consumption by turning community members into prosumers with a direct stake in questions of production.
Campaigns.
In 2012, a global coalition of trade unionists founded Trade Unions for Energy Democracy to organize workers in support of climate action and a just transition to renewable energy. As of 2021, the network claims a membership of 89 trade union bodies in 26 countries.
In 2021, the New York Energy Democracy Alliance joined other state advocacy organizations in forming the Public Power NY Coalition. The coalition is currently advocating for the passage of the New York Utility Democracy Act (S.B. S7243), which would municipalize the New York's private utility companies and create democratically-elected utility boards to oversee their operations.
References.
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