Abstract

The current growth-oriented and fossil-based energy system is undergoing a transformation toward renewable energy. However, simply swapping out technologies without addressing the deeper socio-economic structures risks perpetuating the actual social inequalities and environmental degradation. To counter this threat, it’s imperative to (re)politicize the energy transition through the promotion of various forms of energy commoning. Energy commoning necessitates a transformation of the energy system that prioritizes both citizens’control of energy, social equity and ecological sustainability. In this paper, we propose collective energy initiatives as a socio-technical movement capable of reshaping perceptions, collective behaviors, power relations and daily energy practices around energy. Despite the popularity of energy collective initiatives, theoretical analyses are still needed. Nevertheless, we analyze how this movement can be threatened by institutional lock-ins and power relations in the energy market and its related infrastructures. At this aim, a systemic perspective is applied to understand the key dynamics, barriers and principal resistance of the energy transition and how to counteract them. Specifically, we focus on identifying socio-institutional patterns that can facilitate the growth of energy collective initiatives and their transformative potential. Our ambition is to provide conceptual and empirical support for considering energy commoning strategies as a policy tool to prevent the co-option of these collective actions by the current expansion of green capitalism.