The New Energy Commons: Exploring the Role of Property Regimes in the Development of Renewable Energy Systems

Abstract

"The classical debate about the commons is of direct relevance for preindustrial practices of energy provision, such as the collection of firewood or peat harvesting for heat, the grazing of draught animals on common land and the hunting of whales for blubber which was used for lighting. As a contrast, the industrial revolution was fuelled by fossil carbon and gave rise to modern corporate capitalism. None were richer or more powerful than the private enterprises which sought to monopolise the production and distribution of oil, like Rockefeller's Standard Oil. Threats of security of supply and climate change have recently led to the re-emergence of renewable energy as a politically and environmentally desired source of energy supply in (post)industrial societies. However in the light of strong public support and government subsidies and targets, the development of renewable energy has been remarkably slow. Our paper explores the desired development of distributed and renewable energy systems through the lens of property regimes. A closer look at ownership issues around access, exploitation and commodification of a range of different renewable energy systems reveals that a lot of the observed barriers to the growth of this sector can be explained in terms of enclosure of the energy commons. Powerful vested interests are in part to blame but some renewable energy systems are new commons and it could be argued that their enclosure is largely accidental, i.e. the result of old and redundant regulations. We argue that the development and adoption of appropriate (common) property regimes will have to lie at the heart of any serious effort to enable individuals and communities to contribute actively to a more sustainable and low carbon energy future."