Putting energy infrastructure into place: A systematic review

For twenty years, social scientists have used place concepts to understand energy infrastructure siting. Much of this research stemmed from attempts to provide theoretical explanations that avoid pejorative NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) assumptions about community objections. Despite a burgeoning literature, a comprehensive review of place-related energy infrastructure research is lacking. This paper addresses this gap for the first time by collating and systematically reviewing a corpus of 190 articles published between January 1999 and March 2022, using search terms combining ‘energy’ and five place concepts (place attachment, sense of place, place identity, identity of a place, place-technology fit). Content analysis revealed the application of place concepts most frequently to wind energy, as well as nuclear power, fossil-fuel extraction and energy distribution; a high number of journal outlets (n = 76); a prevalence of single case study and survey methods; geographical concentration in developed countries, and a high prevalence of female authors. Bibliometric analysis of key words indicated a hub and spoke structure centered on the term place attachment, with low levels of coherence. 8 research clusters were identified comprising disparate technologies, geographical contexts, concepts and methods. Two of the search terms (identity of a place, place-technology fit) had low prevalence. Analysis revealed the application of place concepts to be highly varied, with 15 place concepts identified that are often not the primary focus of research, and sometimes used superficially. To improve coherence, cumulative learning and rigour in future studies, a lexicon of place definitions and specific recommendations are provided.