Power (Re)distribution: How Dominant Capital Regained Control of the Energiewende

Power (Re)distribution: How Dominant Capital Regained Control of the Energiewende
Levi, Tia and Israel, Emil and Grubman, Max. (2024). Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft. OnlineFirst. August. pp. 1-33. (Article - Journal; English).

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Alternative Locations

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41358-024-00384-8, https://osf.io/rhe5w/?view_only=5e50f54f97bf424abeb009a2eab2681b, https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/301400

Abstract or Brief Description

The Energiewende (energy transition) is the dynamic and contested project of energy transition in Germany. It encompasses both the sociotechnical transformation of the German electricity system and the reorganization of the sector’s ownership structure. In this paper, we present a Capital-as-Power (CasP) based analysis, investigating industrial path-dependency and innovation as part of the dialectics of power and sociotechnical change in capitalism. According to CasP, dominant capital seeks to increase its differential accumulation, i.e., accumulation relative to a benchmark. Energiewende policies initially decreased the differential accumulation of dominant electricity firms in Germany. However, we find that by concentrating their control over the shrinking conventional generation capacity, while variable generation expanded, dominant firms gained the leverage needed to increase differential prices and profits, thus managing to regain sectoral control by increasing their threat to reliable power supply. We find that these processes coincide with spatial centralization, ownership concentration, and decreasing penetration rates of renewable energy resources in Germany. By presenting new conceptual tools and empirical findings, we trace the ways in which the recovery of dominant capital in the German electricity sector shapes and restricts energy transition processes.

Language

English

Publication Type

Article - Journal

Additional Information

OnlineFirst

Keywords

energy transition power capitalism political economy electricity

Subject

BN Money & Finance
BN Power
BN Policy
BN Production
BN Region - Europe
BN Science & Technology
BN Value & Price
BN Business Enterprise
BN Capital & Accumulation
BN Conflict & Violence
BN Cooperation & Collective Action
BN Crisis
BN Distribution
BN Ecology & Environment
BN Growth
BN Industrial Organization
BN Institutions

Depositing User

Jonathan Nitzan

Date Deposited

12 Aug 2024 23:09

Last Modified

22 Aug 2024 00:17

URL:

https://bnarchives.yorku.ca/id/eprint/831

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