Recursive Norm Building in the German Energy Transition. The Changing Energy Supply

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Cristina Besio; Professorin Dr. Margrit Seckelmann; Professor Dr. Arnold Windeler
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442734315

This project aims to analyse changes to the normative foundation of the socio-technical pathway of the German energy sector. Currently, this sector is gripped by change, as energy oligarchies, nuclear energy, and fossil fuels lose ground to decentralised production and renewables. In approaching this fundamental shift, we focus on three central events: (1) the 2000 Renewable Energy Sources Act and its amended versions, (2) the Fukushima disaster in 2011, and (3) the digitalisation of the energy sector since 2013. The assumption that informs our inquiry is that the Energiewende can only succeed if and when a new normative basis for energy production is established. At present, the Energiewende has successfully challenged the traditionally legitimated order, but it has not yet secured a stable foundation for the new regime. As the new order is still being negotiated, we examine ongoing value conflicts such as energy security versus sustainability or climate protection versus habitat preservation. We argue that the current transformation cannot successfully unfold as a top-down process. On the contrary, several key actors are currently at odds – as regards not only technical and economic issues but also their underlying norms. One focal point of our research is the legal system, a central arena for discussions of societal norms. Moreover, we focus on energy providers, who are the principal target of new energy supply rules. At the organisational level, we are particularly interested in how major energy companies, medium-sized providers, municipal and regional utilities, and energy cooperatives respectively re-specify – that is to say, perceive, filter and concretise (e.g. through innovative services) – the normative expectations of society. Energy providers do not constitute their re-specifications in isolation, but by interacting with organisations such as NGOs, research institutes and other actors engaged in the issue-based field associated with the Energiewende. Alliances formed at the field level contribute to public opinion and even legal frameworks. However, proposals emerging from the field are rarely adopted without further ado. They are themselves processed or re-specified by the legal system.The concepts of recursivity and re-specification allow us to understand the contested process of constituting a new normative order for the German energy transition. In terms of methods, we combine interviews with the content and frame analysis of legal documents and field-related as well as organisational materials. Three sub-projects will focus on the legal system, the organisational field and the energy providers. Findings from each of these sub-projects will be integrated to analyse their reciprocal influence.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants