ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests the evolution of one community energy project in London – Brixton Energy – and considers the challenges and opportunities for embedding this project into the community. It presents a case study that demonstrates embedding a local energy project into the community comprises both material and moral elements. The chapter considers how and why community has been positioned as a site for energy transitions, how such energy schemes become embedded within the community and more broadly, and how the embedding of energy transitions into the community raises questions for justice. The chapter demonstrates a threefold understanding of embeddedness – social, financial and technical – and argues that unpacking the distinctions between the community and the local, understanding the dynamics of individual and collective ownership. It considers how such community energy projects connect with existing infrastructure systems provides a framework for understanding the moral and material dimensions of community energy in practice.
