Revisiting the social licence to operate in the energy transition: An intersectional agenda for research and practice

In energy transitions research, the ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) is often seen as a vital component in building coalitions between renewable energy developers and communities that host renewable energy development. In efforts to achieve the social licence, developers often seek to demonstrate social responsibility and create tangible benefits for inhabitants of communities or regions at the frontline of the energy transition. This can entail stakeholder engagements with local community members or the distribution of monetary or other community benefits to mitigate or eliminate opposition to renewable energy development. However, significant inequalities exist in who has the power to support or resist a particular project. These uneven and differentiated experiences of communities in the energy transition are often overlooked in conventional approaches to the SLO. In this perspective paper, then, we develop a critical analysis of the SLO through an intersectional justice-centred approach. By doing so, we shine a light on the ways in which conventional framings of the SLO tend to underplay the dynamics of social difference that shape acceptance and consent within and between communities. As a consequence, we argue that orthodox approaches to the SLO can lead to narrow and potentially exclusionary community engagement practices within the energy transition. Our critique calls attention to the normative assumptions underlying the SLO to contribute to new research avenues for engaging with the unjust impacts of energy transitions.