Emerging local public action in renewable energy production. Discussion of the territorial dimension of the energy transition based on the cases of four intermunicipal cooperation entities in France

Abstract

Local authorities in France have recently been granted administrative and operational responsibilities to pursue action in the domain of renewable energy. In this article we discuss the strategies and projects implemented by a diverse set of local authority groupings in France and highlight the different ways in which they have appropriated the issues and challenges of renewable energy. These intermunicipal entities have different sociocultural and geographic configurations, and our study shows that their local public action is driven by different motivations. Renewable energy is a vector for development that can be utilized in various ways, sometimes to legitimate public energy policy in the territory, and in other instances to bring in revenue. The politics of territorial energy strategy are often narrowly bounded by the scope of the intermunicipal structure (Etablissement public de coopération intercommunale, EPCI). This restricted focus makes it difficult to develop strategies spanning several territories, and in the long term could lead neighbouring territories to compete to attract investment.