a world leader in sustainable development, but the transition’s outcomes are far from
certain, as German power infrastructure continues to depend heavily on fossil fuels.
Even less understood are the cultural dimensions of the energy transition, and their
consequences for social and political life. The transition hinges on the idea that that
decentralized power generation—necessary to accommodate the variable nature of
renewable energy sources—will enfranchise energy consumers as energy producers,
increasing their economic gain and political participation. The linchpin of this process is
the sustainable village, as renewable energy advocates suggest that the sustainable
development of rural regions promises phytoremediation and enfranchisement to areas
disadvantaged through industrial development.
Yet as these communities move toward sustainability, there is little indication that this
process categorically increases citizen participation and profit. Industry sources report
that half of Germany’s renewable energy initiatives are citizen-owned, but my long-term
fieldwork in a region at the heart of the transition indicates that citizens’ shares and
participation in such initiatives are unevenly distributed at sites of renewable energy
development. My paper details these findings and how they contradict conventional
models of participation in sustainable villages. Drawing upon theories at the intersection
of anthropology, science studies and public culture studies, I explore the multiple,
everyday ways in which the sustainable village is “made” and, in so doing, offer new
understandings of citizenship and social organization in a time of crisis-driven
development.
