Hydrosocial Ocean Commons: Offshore Wind Energy in Oregon

The ocean has been culturally and legally conceptualized as a commons, a space of subsistence inherited by all. Enclosure or privatization creates overlapping jurisdictions of ocean space. The ocean is also the world's most significant carbon capture, absorbing billions of tons of anthropogenic carbon dioxide since the Industrial Revolution. Now, the ocean offers an additional opportunity to decarbonize energy production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through 'new frontiers' of offshore wind technology; however, this potential is entangled within neoliberalism. Offshore wind is entering a fragmented legal landscape where the social-legal process of ocean jurisdiction remains contested. As the "new frontier" of renewable energy moves offshore, society needs strategies to create comprehensive policies that encompasses the social-ecological systems of the ocean, including renewable energy. This thesis builds on theoretical foundations of political ecology, legal geography, energy and water justice, and common property theory to ask the following research questions: What are competing ideas and narratives of ocean space in relation to Oregon offshore wind energy development? What are the legal geographic dimensions of offshore wind energy development in Oregon? How can these results be analyzed through processes of enclosure and commons? Through spatial conceptualization of the commons, enclosure, and scale, this critical human geography research analyzes qualitative data on offshore wind energy development processes and policies, as well as the social and legal dimensions of ocean waters. The goal of this thesis is to invite potential paths forward for renewable energy transitions through deeper understanding of ideas and expectations for protecting ocean, atmospheric, and energy commons as Oregon stakeholders and Tribes struggle not solely for "clean" electrons, but for democratic processes toward energy justice.