Transforming Energy Seascapes: An Ethnography of Energy Infrastructure at the Wadden Sea

Preventing the urgencies that loom in the face of anthropogenic climate change requires a rapid and just transformation of the socio-energy system. Energy clearly permeates into maritime realms, as the case of energy imports to the Wadden Sea coast demonstrates. By conducting ethnographic research, the purpose of this thesis was to develop a profound understanding of coastal residents’ perspectives on how maritime energy infrastructure transforms their local seascapes. In that context, the concept of “energy seascapes” was introduced, defined as seascapes that, over time, have significantly been shaped by the flows of energy derived from human energy demands. The findings of this thesis illustrate how contexts across different scales intertwine in the making of energy seascapes. Local perspectives on energy infrastructure at the Wadden Sea revealed how contesting imaginaries are invoked to make sense of how the energy seascape transforms. Employing a framework of justice further demonstrated how depoliticized transformations within the energy sector foster and obscure energy injustices at sites of energy production. Therefore, the findings of this thesis point to the need for a politicization of energy politics.