ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how energy controversies involve forms of claim-making that extend across matters of evidence and knowledge, and include claims that have a more overtly ethical, normative and political character. It considers the main topics of controversy that have emerged across different parts of energy systems, covering health, environmental, economic and landscape impacts, and questions of energy and carbon performance. The chapter examines the notion of claim-making introduced and the varied forms of claim-making that run through energy controversies, from the 'boundary work' of scientific knowledge claims, through to ethical and political claims for rights of participation and recognition. It reflects on the underlying processes that generate forms of social conflict around energy questions, considering competing explanations and the alternative forms of response and prognosis they suggest. The chapter examines how these different forms of claim-making reveal underlying socio-political tensions at the root of energy conflicts.
