Alpine Spatial Planning, Energy Transition, and Open Spaces: An Agenda for Future Development and Governance

Energy, climate, and biodiversity crises pose major challenges to the European Alps. A rapid energy transition is needed, which is linked to the expansion of renewable energies that will lead to further intensified industrial use of the Alpine environment. However, the biodiversity crisis makes the restoration of ecosystems and the proactive preservation of open spaces imperative. Alpine spatial planning serves as a regulatory instrument for addressing land-use conflicts at an early stage. Hence, this article discusses the role of spatial planning for energy transitions in the European Alps. In so doing, we use the Alps as a case study to illustrate currently debated renewable energy transitions in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland—covering solar, wind, and microhydropower—in relation to open spaces. We then proceed, on this basis, to propose an agenda for future development and governance regarding spatial renewable energy planning in the Alps. Th proposed agenda is structured by 3 guiding questions reflecting major issues: energy policy goals, open space preservation, and spatial planning. In addition, 27 research questions specify the development and policy agenda in more detail.