Energy Policy in Times of Reconfiguration

Over the past years, the energy policy landscape has undergone profound changes. We have witnessed the merging of climate policy with industrial policy, highlighting both the interconnectedness of climate and economic goals and the potential tensions with broader environmental goals. The re-emergence of energy geopolitics and the renewed importance of energy security have underscored the strategic significance of energy resources and the location of energy production – linking also the debates on technology sovereignty and strategic autonomy increasingly to energy policymaking. Global supply chains and energy markets have faced significant strain, prompting a reevaluation of resilience and sustainability. Different technological pathways are accelerating, connecting to changes in the political economy of energy. Onshore and offshore wind power in Europe is expanding rapidly, providing increased opportunities for energy security but also facing other challenges including public backlash, land-use disputes and its effects on military air surveillance. Solar energy has emerged as the winner of the green energy technology race, breeding new patterns of energy system governance. Concurrently, the explosion of battery energy storage production introduced transformative changes in the automotive industry and unlocked new patterns of renewable energy deployment. Furthermore, some governments are placing high hopes on energy technologies in early development stages, such as small modular reactors and hydrogen production. At the same time, electricity demand is rapidly increasing from new technologies like artificial intelligence, raising questions about meeting this demand while simultaneously electrifying and decarbonizing sectors like heating and transport. These developments have had significant political implications. As renewable energy technologies and decentralized energy systems gain prominence, new actors and stakeholders are entering the energy policy landscape. They represent new interests and are pushing for new financial and governance patterns in the energy industry. The shifts in the technologies and fuels used are also impacting how energy security should be understood and governed. In addition, they also create winners and losers in the transition, indicating increasing needs to think about how public policies can manage (in)justice considerations of the unfolding transitions. Taken together, these changes are reconfiguring systems dynamics and altering the global distribution of political and economic power. This Section explores the complex entanglement of the politics of energy transitions and the interface of energy systems and societies. It seeks to address general issues such as: the interplay between integration and fragmentation in energy politics, changing narratives in energy policy, continuity and change in energy politics, changes in and new concerns pertaining to the governance of energy security, as well as the legitimacy, acceptance and justice of disruptive policy and technological innovations. The Section is proposed by the ECPR Standing Group on Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance. The Group also proposes the “Climate Governance in Turbulent Times” and “Geoeconomics and Economic Statecraft along Clean Energy Supply Chains” sections. We suggest that contributions relating to climate politics or geoeconomics be directed primarily there.