Investing in Energy Justice: Modes of Legal Energy Governance, Especially of Energy Community Initiatives

This contribution departs from the question if there is right of access to sustainable energy. It places the idea of such a right in the context of the energy trilemma and sustainable development goals. With this placing comes the understanding of the right of access as a social/programmatic right, and the need to consider the different institutional legal environments in which it may be relevant and should be able to have its normative impact. In terms of the concept of energy justice (of recognition, procedure and substance), different institutional environments support different conceptualizations of justice and with that different interpretations and specifications of the right of access to sustainable energy. The contribution offers a focus on institutional governance settings regarding community energy initiatives as a mode of securing such right of access, correlating with the institutional setting in which such initiatives are regulated. This correlation connects institutional environments to justice conceptualisations, and to policy framing in terms of democratization of renewable energy provision.