Owning the just transition: comparing citizen participation in South African and German wind farms

The global effort to reduce carbon emissions, driven by industrialised countries in the north is increasingly perceived as an unfair imposition by countries in the south. Wind turbine technology importantly contributes to the energy transition and its introduction has produced new players in energy systems, for instance through financial citizen participation in wind farms. The shape and degree of citizen participation is geographically variegated even within countries. Taking a multi-scalar perspective inspired by institutional theory, we explore the micro, meso and macro institutional and regulatory frameworks perceived as supportive or restrictive in the development of citizen participation in Germany and South Africa. Our findings highlight the importance of citizens’ ability and will to create legal structures for inclusive collective action and their ability to access affordable investment capital through local banks and other financing arrangements. Under the right institutional conditions decentralised energy systems, such as small-scale wind farms, provide an opportunity for fostering emotive and economic ownership by citizens in the global north and south alike.