Table of Contents

1. Energy democracy: An introduction Part I: Scalar Dimensions of Power and Governance in Energy Democracy 2. Scalar dimensions of power and governance in energy democracy: Introduction 3. International energy governance: Opportunities and challenges for democratic politics 4. Comparing and contrasting the institutional relationships, regulatory frameworks, and energy system governance of European and U.S. electric cooperatives 5. Energy democracy at the scale of Indigenous governance: Indigenous Native American struggles for democracy, justice, and decolonization 6. Conceptualizing energy democracy using the multiple streams framework: Actors, public participation, and scale in energy transitions 7. Part One response Part II: Discourses of Energy Democracy 8. Discourses of energy democracy: Introduction 9. Energy security: From security of supply to public participation 10. The premise and the promise: "Energy poverty," capabilities, and the language of moral commitments 11. A brief excursion into the many scales and voices of renewable energy colonialism 12. Energy dominance 13. Part Two response Part III: Grassroots and Critical Modes of Action 14. Grassroots and critical modes of action: Introduction 15. The state or the citizens for energy democracy? Municipal and cooperative models in the German energy transition 16. Institutionalizing energy democracy: The promises and pitfalls of electricity co-operative development 17. A feminist lens on energy democracy: Redistributing power and resisting oppression through renewable transformation 18. Energy commons and alternatives to enclosures of sunshine and wind 19. Part Three response Part IV: Democratic and Participatory Principles 20. Democratic and participatory principles of Energy Democracy: Introduction 21. Splitting (over) the atom: Nuclear energy and democratic conflict 22. Public participation and energy system transformations 23. The complex relations between justice and participation in collaborative planning processes for a renewable energy transition 24. Participation in non-democracies: Rural Thailand as a site of energy democracy 25. Part Four response Part V: Energy Resource Tensions 26. Energy resource tensions: Introduction 27. Energy democracy, nuclear power, and participatory knowledge production about radiation risks 28. A fracked society: Multi-state media analysis of hydraulic fracturing in the USA 29. Latin American hydropower sacrifice zones 30. Postcards from the future: Hawaii’s transition to wind and solar energy 31. Part Five response Part VI: Energy Democracies in Practice 32. Energy democracies in practice: Introduction 33. Carbon neutral pledges: Public opinions, opportunities, and challenges for energy democracy 34. Beyond the Ivory Tower: Exploring the role of universities towards sustainable energy transitions in post-disaster environments 35. Low carbon energy democracy in the Global South? 36. Energy democracy in practice: Centering energy sovereignty in rural communities and Tribal Nations 37. Part Six response 38. Conclusion: The future of energy democracies 39. Afterword: Energy democracy, Episode 196 of Cultures of Energy Podcast

About the Author

Andrea M. Feldpausch-Parker is an associate professor of environmental and science communication at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), USA.

Danielle Endres is a professor of communication and affiliated faculty in environmental humanities at the University of Utah, USA.

Tarla Rai Peterson is a professor of communication and affiliated faculty in environmental science and engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA.

Stephanie L. Gomez is an assistant professor of communication studies at Western Washington University, USA.

Reviews

"A jaw dropping, rich, and wondrously comprehensive treatment of the topic of energy democracy. A refreshing reminder than energy decisions, policies, and pathways have as much to do with politics and systems of political deliberation as they do hardware, infrastructure, or tariffs. For acts of energy consumption, investment or self-generation can be political statements alongside transactions in the marketplace or preferences for some technical criterion. This book offers a refreshing, urgent reminder of what is at stake—it is at once a sober diagnosis, a creative piece of scholarship, and a call for action."Benjamin K. Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy, University of Sussex"This Handbook considers "energy democracy" as both a social movement and a terminological "composition" or way into important conversations about how technological innovation, new economic and political structures, and adaptive communication practices are all required to transform our broken relationship with the planet. Incredibly timely given recent events from Texas to India to around the globe!"Stephen P. Depoe, Professor and Head, Department of Communication, University of Cincinnati"Smart, comprehensive, and internationally authored, Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy is an essential reference for scholars and climate activists alike in understanding the sociotechnical complexities of the energy transition now occurring and the urgent choices the climate crisis is demanding of us."Robert Cox, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "A groundbreaking and highly recommended intervention that challenges taken-for-granted assumptions that energy transition necessarily delivers more sustainable futures. Contributors interrogate up-and-downstream aspects of energy assemblages, exploring new technologies and articulating participatory alternatives in the context of resource constraints and climate crisis. This collection is a must for exploring just transition." Majia H. Nadesan, Professor of Communication, Arizona State University"The intersection of energy, environmental, and security concerns creates urgent problems requiring collaborative solutions. This exciting volume provides a rich and ambitious overview of democratic concepts and practices that can empower scholars and activists in transforming the disastrous trends currently created by technocratic, neo-colonial, and corporate-capitalist control of energy systems."Bryan C. Taylor, Professor of Communication, University of Colorado Boulder