Actors in energy transitions. Transformative potentials at the intersection between Norwegian port and transport systems

Abstract

Although actors are of central importance in the progress of energy transitions, their roles and contributions have received limited attention by transition scholars. This article aims to fill this gap by taking a ́role-centrić approach to actors and by expanding existing user role typologies to include the variety of actors involved in such transitions. This allows for a more comprehensive grasp of the potential role of actors in accelerating energy transitions. To explore how particular constellations of actor roles can shape energy transitions, we turn to an under-addressed transition site, namely ports. As nodes in transport systems, ports may shape and potentially transform the energy use and practices in the three domains that intersect in ports: the port domain, the sea transport domain, and the hinterland transport domain. We find that port actorś fulfilment of their roles differs between the three domains, which differ according to whether actors are united by an uncontroversial innovation, and whether there is a strong intermediary role. We also find that port actors are collectively more able to shape energy transitions in ports than in related transport systems. We conclude that studying the complex and context-laden realities of ports is a useful exercise for exploring the variety of role constellations that could shape energy transitions.