Decarbonising Electricity
The Promise of Renewable Energy Regions

This book explores regional energy transitions in India, Germany and Australia, drawing on ethnography and political economy.

James Goodman (Author), Gareth Bryant (Author), Linda Connor (Author), Devleena Ghosh (Author), Jonathan Paul Marshall (Author), Tom Morton (Author), Katja Müller (Author), Stuart Rosewarne (Author), Riikka Heikkinen (Author), Lisa Lumsden (Author), Mareike Pampus (Author), Priya Pillai (Author)

9781009485616, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 July 2025

268 pages
25 x 17.7 x 2 cm, 0.63 kg

The current shift to renewable energy is dominated by globalised energy companies building large-scale wind and solar plants. This book discusses the consequences and possibilities of this shift in India, Germany, and Australia, focusing on regions which have now largely decarbonised electricity generation. The authors show how centralised models of energy provision are maintained, and chart their impacts in terms of energy geography, social stratification, and socio-ecological appropriation. The chapters emphasise the prominent role played by state regulation, financial incentives, and public infrastructure for corporate renewables, arguing that public provision should be re-purposed for distributed renewables, social equity in affected regions, and for wider social benefit. This interdisciplinary book provides fertile building ground for research in - and application of - future energy transitions. It will appeal to students, researchers, and policy makers from anthropology, sociology, politics and political economy, geography, and environmental and sustainability studies.

Acknowledgements
Authorship
Tables and Figures
Introduction: legitimacy for renewables?
1. The promise of renewable energy
2. Renewable energy regions: cases and policy
3. Karnataka, India
4. Brandenburg, Germany
5. South Australia
6. Comparative analysis.

Subject Areas: International environmental law [LBBP]