landscapes of energies, a perspective on the energy transition

Abstract : This chapter discusses the way in which cross-national comparison shall be approached. We assume that energy landscapes emerge at the crossroad of RE technology development and changes in current landscapes. We successively discuss different frameworks for approaching technology development and landscape change, before turning to the recent literature about landscape and renewable energy development. We conclude that cross-national comparison of landscapes of energies should be attentive to the type of landscape tradition at work in each country and account for the fact that the development of renewable energy endows these traditions with a renewed existence. Depending on the extent and the focus of the conflicts or controversies raised around RE projects, the method and focus of the analysis shall differ. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015.