The re-establishment of the municipality as land-use planning authority in Norwegian wind energy development: policy feedback and energy justice

In recent years, conflict levels over land use and land-use decisions for wind power development has escalated in Norway and other countries. Norwegian electricity production has historically been almost fully based on hydropower. Over the last few years, Norway has increased electricity production from wind energy from less than one percent (1 TWh) to above 10 percent (17 TWh) of total production. In 2019, this development came to a complete halt, when the government decided to stop the processing of any wind power license applications until a new and improved licensing system had been developed. This decision was the result of escalating conflict levels and widespread protests to the existing wind power licensing regime in the municipalities. The central government’s original plan was to implement incremental changes in the licensing system administratively, but the municipalities were not content with plan. In 2021, after debating the proposed changes, the Parliament requested the government to enact legislative changes that transfer wind power planning authority from the central government (energy authorities) to the municipalities. This decision represents a remarkable turnaround, given that the Parliament in 2008 enacted legislative changes that transferred windpower planning authority from the municipalities to the central energy authorities. Hence, this article seeks to answer the following puzzle: How can we explain the relocation of regulatory authority in wind power localization decisions from the central state to the municipalities in Norway, and what are the implications for the licensing process and local legitimacy? Methodologically, we draw on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders at the central and local government levels and a survey of experiences with wind power development that we distributed to all Norwegian municipalities that had some experience with wind power development. In analyzing local perceptions of legitimacy of the process and outcome, and ultimately opposition to or acceptance of wind power, this study draws on policy feedback theory and the energy justice literature, which focuses on three dimensions: recognition, procedural, and distributive justice (Heffron et al., 2013; Heffron and McCauley, 2018; Jenkins, 2018; Jenkins et al., 2016). We find that opposition to future wind power development were shaped by experiences with wind power licensing processes and the distributional outcomes of these. The municipalities evoked all three dimensions of energy justice when justifying their stance. Existing wind power licencing and planning policies were in various respects regarded as unjust for the municipalities. In turn, widespread protests from the municipalities, particularly rejection of future wind energy development under the existing wind energy licensing regime, led the central government to initiate the reform of national wind power policies and legislative frameworks.