Authoring Participation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5324/njsts.v4i1.2169Keywords:
energy transformation, material participation, renewable energy, communityAbstract
Samsø, Denmark's Renewable Energy Island since 1997, is world renowned for being self-sufficient in renewable energy and for having achieved energy self-sufficiency and CO2 neutrality through successful processes of public participation. In this article I seek to show how these processes of public participation so central to the Renewable Energy Island project can be better understood as instances of material participation motivated first and foremost by a concern for the future of the island as a 'liveable' community; a community in which jobs and institutions are not constantly threatening to disappear. By turning to material participation, a concept inspired by Noortje Marres and Jennifer Gabrys, the efforts put into Samsø’s energy transformation by the islanders are given specificity. While much literature on public participation foregrounds public meetings and other spaces for deliberation and debate, material participation locates participation in everyday practice and work. On Samsø, the islanders’ participation was not an add-on to the project, it was an indispensable resource in itself. Building on extensive fieldwork I analyse how the islanders came to invest their time and resources in the Renewable Energy Island project, highlighting how, by materializing energy in concrete, local projects, energy and climate change-related projects can gain community-strengthening potentialities reaching beyond goals of energy self-sufficiency.
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References
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Barnett, J., Burningham, K., Walker, G. & Cass, N. 2012. Imagined Publics and Engagement Around Renewable Energy Technologies in the UK. Public Understanding of Science 21(1): 26-50.
Blok, A. 2007. Experts on Public Trial: On Democratizing Expertise Through a Danish Consensus Conference. Public Understanding of Science 16: 163-182.
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Bruun Jensen, C. 2005. Citizen Projects and Consensus-Building at the Danish Board of Technology: On Experiments in Democracy. Acta Sociologica 48(3): 221-235.
Bünger, J. 1997. Pressemeddelelse: Samsø bliver Danmarks Vedvarende Energi-Ø. The Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy. www.energiinstituttet.dk/335/ (accessed August 6 2015)
Callon, M. 2009. Civilizing Markets: Carbon Trading Between In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments. Accounting, Organizations and Society 34: 535-548.
Callon, M. and Rabeharisoa, V. 2008. The Growing Engagement of Emergent Concerned Groups in Political and Economic Life: Lessons from the French Association of Neuromuscular Disease Patients. Science, Technology & Human Values 33(2): 230-261.
Callon, M. 1986. Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay. In Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? edited by J. Law, 196-223. London Routledge.
Cardwell, D. Green-Energy Inspiration off the Coast of Denmark. New York Times, January 17 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/business/energy-environment/green-energy-inspiration-from-samso-denmark.html (accessed August 15 2015).
Cochoy, F. 2007. A Brief Theory of the ‘Captation’ of the Public - Understanding the Market with Little Red Riding Hood. Theory, Culture & Society 24: 213-33.
Energistyrelsen (the Danish Energy Agency) 1997. Notat. Energistyrelsens vurdering af projektforslag: Vedvarende energi-ø. October 16 1997, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy (personal copy)
Epstein, S. 1995. The construction of lay expertise: AIDS activism and the forging of credibility in the reform of clinical trials. Science, Technology & Human Values 20(4): 408-437.
Felt, U and Fochler M. 2009. The Bottom-Up Meanings of the Concept of Public Participation in Science and Technology. Science and Public Policy 35(7): 489-499.
Fish, A., Murillo, L., Nguyen, L., Panofsky, A. & Kelty, C. 2011. Birds of the Internet: A Field Guide to Understanding Action, Organization and the Governance of Participation. Journal of Cultural Economy 4(2): 157-187.
Gabrys, J. 2014. A Cosmpolitics of Energy: Diverging Materialities and Hesitating Practices. Environment and Planning A 46: 2095-2109.
Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162 (3859): 1243-1248.
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Hermansen, S., Johnsen, Aa., Nielsen, S. P., Jantzen, J., Lundén, M. and Jørgensen, P. J. 2007. Samsø, a Renewable Energy Island: 10 Years of Development and Evaluation (10 Year Report). Samsø Energy Academy. www.energiinstituttet.dk/101 (accessed August 10 2015).
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Hoff, J. 2015. ’Think Locally, Act Locally’: Climate Change Mitigation and Citizen Participation. In Community Governance and Citizen-Driven Initiatives in Climate Change Mitigation, edited by J. Hoff and Q. Gausset. Routledge/Earthscan: London & New York (forthcoming, 2015)
Irwin, A., Jensen, T. E. and Jones, K. E. 2013. The Good, the Bad and the Perfect: Criticizing Engagement Practice. Social Studies of Science 43: 118-135.
Jepsen, E.T. 2000. Mødereferat samt klage over afgørelse vedr. VVM-pligt for Varmeværk, Nordby, Samsø. Lokalvarme i Nordby og Mårup, møde 5, 23. november 2000. http://energiinstituttet.dk/cgi/search/simple?q=fjernvarme32&_action_search=Search&_action_search=Search&_order=bytitle&basic_srchtype=ALL&_satisfyall=ALL (accessed August 10 2015).
Karnøe, P. 2013. Large Scale Wind Power Penetration in Denmark: Breaking Up and Remixing Politics, Technologies and Markets. Revue de l’Energie 611: 12-22.
Kastens, B. and Newig, J. 2008. Will participation foster the successful implementation of the water framework directive? The case of agricultural groundwater protection in northwest Germany. Local Environment 13(1): 27-41.
Kelty, C. 2012. From Participation to Power. In The Participatory Cultures Handbook edited by A. Delwiche and J. Hendersen. Routledge, New York and London.
Kingsley, P. Windfarms: Is Community Ownership the Way Ahead? The Guardian, November 5 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/05/windfarms-community-ownership (accessed August 10 2015).
Latour, B. 1993. We Have Never Been Modern. Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts and London, England.
Lawrence, A. 2006. ’No Personal Motive?’ Volunteers, Biodiversity, and the False Dichotomies of Participation. Ethics, Place and Environment: A Journal of Philosophy and Geography 9(3): 279-298.
Marres, N. 2012. Material Participation. Technology, the Environment and Everyday Publics. Palgrave Macmillan.
Marres, N. 2011. The Costs of Public Involvement: Everyday Devices of Carbon Accounting and the Materialization of Participation. Economy and Society 40(4): 510-533.
Møller, T. S., Nielsen, S. O. 1999. Dokumentation fra seminar. Café GO ENERGI. www.energiinstituttet.dk/337 (accessed August 6 2015)
www.ramboll.com. Towards CO2 Neutral Heating. www.ramboll.com/projects/rdk/heat-plan-dk (accessed August 6 2015).
Rowe, G. and Frewer, L. J. 2000. Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation. Science, Technology and Human Values 25(1): 3-29.
Samsø Energiselskab, Samsø Erhvervsråd, Samsø Landboforening, Samsø Kommunalbestyrelse, ARKE and Planenergi. 1997. Tiårsplan: Første energiplan for Samsø. Project report. Samsø Energiselskab. www.energiinstituttet.dk/177 (accessed August 10 2015).
Stirling, A. 2008. ’Opening Up’ and ‘Closing Down’: Power, Participation and Pluralism in the Social Appraisal of Technology. Science, Technology and Human Values 33(2): 262-294.
Svendsen, P. 1999. Brev med invitation til møde samt information. Borgermøder vedr. lokalvarme på Samsø, 22. og 24. juni 1999, Brundby Hotel og Nordby Kro, Samsø. http://energiinstituttet.dk/cgi/search/simple?q=fjernvarme21&_action_search=Search&_action_search=Search&_order=bytitle&basic_srchtype=ALL&_satisfyall=ALL (accessed August 10 2015)
Suryanarayanan, S. and Kleinman, D.L. 2013. Be(e)coming experts: The controversy over insecticides in the honey bee colony collapse disorder. Social Studies of Science 43: 215–240.
Sørensen, K. H. 1994. Technology in Use: Two Essays in the Domestication of Artefacts. STS Working Papers 2/94. Trondheim, Norway: Senter for Teknologi og Samfunn.
Tagliabue, J. Turbines and Straw, Danish Self-Sufficiency. New York Times, September 29 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/europe/30samso.html?_r=0 (accessed August 10 2015).
Walker, G., Cass, N., Burningham, K. & Barnett, J. 2010. Renewable Energy and Sociotechnical Change: Imagined Subjectivities of ‘the Public’ and Their Implications. Environment and Planning A 42: 931-947.
Walsh, B. Denmark’s Wind of Change. Time Magazine, March 16 2009. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1883373,00.html (accessed August 10 2015).
Watts, L. 2014. Liminal Futures: Poem for Islands at the Edge. In Subversion, Conversion, Development: Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange and the Politics of Design, edited by J. Leach and L. Wilson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT Press.
Wynne, B. 1991. Knowledges in Context. Science, Technology and Human Values 16(1): 111-121.
Wynne, B. 1992. Misunderstood misunderstanding: Social identities and public uptake of science. Public understanding of science 1(3): 281-304.
Barnett, J., Burningham, K., Walker, G. & Cass, N. 2012. Imagined Publics and Engagement Around Renewable Energy Technologies in the UK. Public Understanding of Science 21(1): 26-50.
Blok, A. 2007. Experts on Public Trial: On Democratizing Expertise Through a Danish Consensus Conference. Public Understanding of Science 16: 163-182.
Bonne, N. Samso: The Danish Island Living Off-Grid. The Guardian, September 21 2008. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2008/sep/21/samso.windfarms (accessed August 10 2015).
Bruun Jensen, C. 2005. Citizen Projects and Consensus-Building at the Danish Board of Technology: On Experiments in Democracy. Acta Sociologica 48(3): 221-235.
Bünger, J. 1997. Pressemeddelelse: Samsø bliver Danmarks Vedvarende Energi-Ø. The Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy. www.energiinstituttet.dk/335/ (accessed August 6 2015)
Callon, M. 2009. Civilizing Markets: Carbon Trading Between In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments. Accounting, Organizations and Society 34: 535-548.
Callon, M. and Rabeharisoa, V. 2008. The Growing Engagement of Emergent Concerned Groups in Political and Economic Life: Lessons from the French Association of Neuromuscular Disease Patients. Science, Technology & Human Values 33(2): 230-261.
Callon, M. 1986. Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay. In Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? edited by J. Law, 196-223. London Routledge.
Cardwell, D. Green-Energy Inspiration off the Coast of Denmark. New York Times, January 17 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/business/energy-environment/green-energy-inspiration-from-samso-denmark.html (accessed August 15 2015).
Cochoy, F. 2007. A Brief Theory of the ‘Captation’ of the Public - Understanding the Market with Little Red Riding Hood. Theory, Culture & Society 24: 213-33.
Energistyrelsen (the Danish Energy Agency) 1997. Notat. Energistyrelsens vurdering af projektforslag: Vedvarende energi-ø. October 16 1997, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy (personal copy)
Epstein, S. 1995. The construction of lay expertise: AIDS activism and the forging of credibility in the reform of clinical trials. Science, Technology & Human Values 20(4): 408-437.
Felt, U and Fochler M. 2009. The Bottom-Up Meanings of the Concept of Public Participation in Science and Technology. Science and Public Policy 35(7): 489-499.
Fish, A., Murillo, L., Nguyen, L., Panofsky, A. & Kelty, C. 2011. Birds of the Internet: A Field Guide to Understanding Action, Organization and the Governance of Participation. Journal of Cultural Economy 4(2): 157-187.
Gabrys, J. 2014. A Cosmpolitics of Energy: Diverging Materialities and Hesitating Practices. Environment and Planning A 46: 2095-2109.
Hardin, G. 1968. The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162 (3859): 1243-1248.
Hawkins, G. Forthcoming. Review: Noortje Marres: ‘Material Participation - Technology, the Environment and Everyday Publics’ & Andrew Barry: ‘Material Politics - Disputes Along the Pipeline’. Contemporary Political Theory 2014.
Hermansen, S., Johnsen, Aa., Nielsen, S. P., Jantzen, J., Lundén, M. and Jørgensen, P. J. 2007. Samsø, a Renewable Energy Island: 10 Years of Development and Evaluation (10 Year Report). Samsø Energy Academy. www.energiinstituttet.dk/101 (accessed August 10 2015).
Hirth, M. L. 2015. Her tjener bonden penger på å lage vindkraft. Fornybar Energi, August 5 2015. www.sysla.no/2015/08/05/syslagronn/her-tjener-bonden-penger-pa-a-lage-vindkraft_48822/ (accessed August 10 2015).
Hoff, J. 2015. ’Think Locally, Act Locally’: Climate Change Mitigation and Citizen Participation. In Community Governance and Citizen-Driven Initiatives in Climate Change Mitigation, edited by J. Hoff and Q. Gausset. Routledge/Earthscan: London & New York (forthcoming, 2015)
Irwin, A., Jensen, T. E. and Jones, K. E. 2013. The Good, the Bad and the Perfect: Criticizing Engagement Practice. Social Studies of Science 43: 118-135.
Jepsen, E.T. 2000. Mødereferat samt klage over afgørelse vedr. VVM-pligt for Varmeværk, Nordby, Samsø. Lokalvarme i Nordby og Mårup, møde 5, 23. november 2000. http://energiinstituttet.dk/cgi/search/simple?q=fjernvarme32&_action_search=Search&_action_search=Search&_order=bytitle&basic_srchtype=ALL&_satisfyall=ALL (accessed August 10 2015).
Karnøe, P. 2013. Large Scale Wind Power Penetration in Denmark: Breaking Up and Remixing Politics, Technologies and Markets. Revue de l’Energie 611: 12-22.
Kastens, B. and Newig, J. 2008. Will participation foster the successful implementation of the water framework directive? The case of agricultural groundwater protection in northwest Germany. Local Environment 13(1): 27-41.
Kelty, C. 2012. From Participation to Power. In The Participatory Cultures Handbook edited by A. Delwiche and J. Hendersen. Routledge, New York and London.
Kingsley, P. Windfarms: Is Community Ownership the Way Ahead? The Guardian, November 5 2012. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/05/windfarms-community-ownership (accessed August 10 2015).
Latour, B. 1993. We Have Never Been Modern. Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts and London, England.
Lawrence, A. 2006. ’No Personal Motive?’ Volunteers, Biodiversity, and the False Dichotomies of Participation. Ethics, Place and Environment: A Journal of Philosophy and Geography 9(3): 279-298.
Marres, N. 2012. Material Participation. Technology, the Environment and Everyday Publics. Palgrave Macmillan.
Marres, N. 2011. The Costs of Public Involvement: Everyday Devices of Carbon Accounting and the Materialization of Participation. Economy and Society 40(4): 510-533.
Møller, T. S., Nielsen, S. O. 1999. Dokumentation fra seminar. Café GO ENERGI. www.energiinstituttet.dk/337 (accessed August 6 2015)
www.ramboll.com. Towards CO2 Neutral Heating. www.ramboll.com/projects/rdk/heat-plan-dk (accessed August 6 2015).
Rowe, G. and Frewer, L. J. 2000. Public Participation Methods: A Framework for Evaluation. Science, Technology and Human Values 25(1): 3-29.
Samsø Energiselskab, Samsø Erhvervsråd, Samsø Landboforening, Samsø Kommunalbestyrelse, ARKE and Planenergi. 1997. Tiårsplan: Første energiplan for Samsø. Project report. Samsø Energiselskab. www.energiinstituttet.dk/177 (accessed August 10 2015).
Stirling, A. 2008. ’Opening Up’ and ‘Closing Down’: Power, Participation and Pluralism in the Social Appraisal of Technology. Science, Technology and Human Values 33(2): 262-294.
Svendsen, P. 1999. Brev med invitation til møde samt information. Borgermøder vedr. lokalvarme på Samsø, 22. og 24. juni 1999, Brundby Hotel og Nordby Kro, Samsø. http://energiinstituttet.dk/cgi/search/simple?q=fjernvarme21&_action_search=Search&_action_search=Search&_order=bytitle&basic_srchtype=ALL&_satisfyall=ALL (accessed August 10 2015)
Suryanarayanan, S. and Kleinman, D.L. 2013. Be(e)coming experts: The controversy over insecticides in the honey bee colony collapse disorder. Social Studies of Science 43: 215–240.
Sørensen, K. H. 1994. Technology in Use: Two Essays in the Domestication of Artefacts. STS Working Papers 2/94. Trondheim, Norway: Senter for Teknologi og Samfunn.
Tagliabue, J. Turbines and Straw, Danish Self-Sufficiency. New York Times, September 29 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/world/europe/30samso.html?_r=0 (accessed August 10 2015).
Walker, G., Cass, N., Burningham, K. & Barnett, J. 2010. Renewable Energy and Sociotechnical Change: Imagined Subjectivities of ‘the Public’ and Their Implications. Environment and Planning A 42: 931-947.
Walsh, B. Denmark’s Wind of Change. Time Magazine, March 16 2009. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1883373,00.html (accessed August 10 2015).
Watts, L. 2014. Liminal Futures: Poem for Islands at the Edge. In Subversion, Conversion, Development: Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange and the Politics of Design, edited by J. Leach and L. Wilson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT Press.
Wynne, B. 1991. Knowledges in Context. Science, Technology and Human Values 16(1): 111-121.
Wynne, B. 1992. Misunderstood misunderstanding: Social identities and public uptake of science. Public understanding of science 1(3): 281-304.
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2016-12-01
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