More-than-human energy justice in Dutch wind energy cases: What can we learn from stakeholders?

Wind energy plays an important role in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources, both globally and in the Netherlands. At the same time, the production and siting of wind turbines cause negative impacts on local residents, animals and ecosystems, as well as communities nearby mining facilities. The impacts on local residents and communities have been studied with the tenets-based energy justice framework, which distinguishes between recognitional, procedural, distributive and restorative justice. However, the negative impacts on non-human stakeholders have received little attention in energy justice research. This calls for an interspecies justice approach, which considers non-human animals as recipients of justice. In this paper, we contribute to this by reflecting on the normative implications of interspecies justice in an empirical setting. Our main argument is that human stakeholders can bring important insights into the normative debate on interspecies justice without losing sight of intra-human justice concerns that are covered by the tenets of energy justice. We apply the method of public reflective equilibrium to articulate normative principles of interspecies justice with stakeholders’ considered judgments regarding wind energy. More specifically, we conduct case studies in three areas impacted by wind energy in the Netherlands, with varying degrees of urbanization and ecosystem characteristics. Based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with stakeholders, including local residents, industry actors, policymakers and non-governmental organizations, we identify their experiences and perceptions regarding wind energy, as well as their considered judgments and good practices regarding interspecies justice. We draw specific attention to the relationship between interspecies and intra-human justice concerns. In this way, we contribute to the normative debate on interspecies justice in the energy transition, while highlighting practical considerations for the implementation of animal-friendly wind energy design and deployment.