The Justice Assumptions of Energy Storage Experts

Abstract

Normative assumptions often remain implicit and undebated in technology development. This is unsurprising because many normative ideas seem universal yet are actually particular standards of dominant social groups. As norms pose as universal, they deny legitimacy to alternatives, ignore moral plurality and eliminate the potential for a more just society. Energy technologies, in particular, have been decoupled from ethical reflection for a long time. Although energy justice scholarship aims to fill this gap, its researchers generally focus on the (un)just effects of already developed energy systems. This chapter illustrates how energy justice can be leveraged in the innovation phase to identify implicit and seemingly universal normative assumptions, unlocking a deeply critical potential beyond merely evaluating the consequences of energy technologies. Four workshops were held with energy storage experts to study their energy justice assumptions, whether they acknowledge moral plurality, and how they deal with normative uncertainty. The results show that experts have—and can articulate—specific conceptions of justice about the scale, time, subjects, and principles of justice in relation to energy storage technologies, such as liberal nationalism, anthropocentrism, and utilitarianism. Yet, other defensible normative assumptions circulate in philosophical debates. Some, but not all, normative uncertainties were acknowledged by the participants. When they were, they resolved normative uncertainties by resorting to utilitarian reasonings, dismissing moral questions as subjective, and relying on existing institutional frameworks. The findings stress the importance of a public debate on energy justice, fostering value change in the long run.