Change in Energy as a Change in Ownership? Dynamics of Appropriation in European Wind Energy Expansion

In the context of Germany's energy transition, the first funding phase identified technological uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the management of wind and geothermal resources. These included challenges related to their valorisation and technical accessibility. The research also revealed a significant 'forgetting of ownership' through strategic 'non-knowledge' of ownership issues. This strategic ignorance appears to stem from, among other things, a desire on the part of state and economic actors to avoid conflicts that could hinder the expansion and economic use of wind and geothermal energy resources. The research also showed that the valorisation of wind as a resource can be understood as a series of property chains in which the legal status of wind as common property becomes irrelevant. In addition to wind turbines and the land on which they stand, this chain of property objects also includes communication infrastructures, neighbouring properties, road networks, electricity grids, international value chains and rights of use and disposal over land. These interlinked property structures constitute a socio-technical constellation embedded in shifting economic, political, ecological, cultural and legal contexts.

Building on these findings, the second funding phase aims to identify the characteristics and dynamics of different property regimes in the wind energy sector through internationally comparative case studies. The central question is whether and to what extent the decarbonisation of energy production is accompanied by a reconfiguration of ownership structures in the energy sector. The conceptual insights from the first phase—particularly regarding ownership chains and ownership oblivion in wind energy—will be tested and refined through empirical international comparison. By examining different national contexts, the research seeks to determine whether wind energy valorisation processes vary significantly or assume relatively stable forms. Portugal, with its large-scale wind energy expansion, and the United Kingdom, which has experienced shifts in energy policy due to Brexit, have been selected as case study countries.

To identify the specific ownership constellations in wind energy projects, as well as the emerging areas of conflict and competing interpretations of ownership structures, the study will analyse policy documents to outline the governance regimes shaping wind energy, with a particular focus on property-related issues.

The insights gained from the first phase of research in Germany—concerning the role of ownership structures in local conflicts and value creation in wind energy—will be systematically compared with the findings from Portugal and the United Kingdom. The study will derive implications for the development of more democratic structures of use and disposal rights and further refine the theory of property chains.