Speeding-up wind energy developments: Exploring notions of acceleration and justice in regions within Germany and the Netherlands

The rapid expansion of low-carbon energy technologies across European regions has been argued to be essential in tackling climate change, necessitating the transition of energy systems towards renewable energy technologies, including wind energy. To accelerate wind energy developments, policies have been put in place to speed up planning and implementation in several European countries in recent years. However, the impacts of these policies remain uncertain, seeing that historical developments have been characterized by accelerations and slowdowns, including actions against wind energy that point to diverse justice issues. Research examining the relations between acceleration and justice in low-carbon transitions is limited, with some studies highlighting the trade-off between rapid developments and just processes and outcomes. Drawing on qualitative case studies from Brandenburg (Germany) and North Holland (Netherlands), this paper develops a heuristic of spatial and temporal aspects to investigate how accelerations in wind energy developments have played out and how relations with notions of justice have emerged and/or been sustained over time. It underscores the importance of creating nuanced understandings of acceleration and justice while accounting for temporal and spatial aspects to be able to govern towards more just and accelerated energy transitions.