Energy Justice in Overijssel: Justice Reasoning in the Dimensions of Energy Justice

Abstract

The Netherlands aims to generate 35 Terawatt-Hours (TWh) of wind and solar energy. Therefore, the country is constructing wind turbines to achieve this goal. However, negative externalities and limited space complicate construction. The Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (WRR) and various studies emphasize the need for energy justice, which is divided into distributional justice, procedural justice, and recognition justice, to ensure the fair distribution of benefits and burdens, inclusion in decision-making, and the representation of all groups. In this study, three classical theories of justice serve as a foundation for assessing these three dimensions of energy justice: social justice, utilitarian justice, and libertarian justice. This study examines how residents of Overijssel reason about the fairness of wind energy projects across the dimensions of energy justice and the extent to which their reasoning is consistent with a single theory. A survey was used to present respondents (N = 134) with dilemma and forced-choice questions representing the three theories of justice across different themes based on the dimensions of energy justice. The results showed that respondents' justice reasoning is context-dependent. Significant differences were also found in the associations between social- and utilitarian-justice dominant respondents, with the latter being more likely to support wind energy development and to believe that climate change is a serious problem than the former. The study concludes that not only groups but also individuals might be polyrational, which is relevant for planners when designing clumsy solutions for the development of wind turbines.