ORIGINAL ARTICLE Open Access

A tale of three transitions: a year in the lifeof electricity system transformationnarratives in the Irish mediaGerard Mullally1* and Edmond Byrne2

Abstract

Background: This paper focuses on discourses of transition in the electricity system in the Irish print media, withparticular attention to both the framing and the scalar referents of the debate. We characterise some of the keycontextual drivers for system transformation and suggest that too sharp a distinction between existing electricityinfrastructure and systems of the future forecloses the possibility of social learning. Our central question researchquestion is: What lessons can emergent techno-optimistic solutions to electricity system transitions learn from contemporaryinfrastructure controversies? Using a reconstruction based on print media coverage over a 12-month period in Ireland,we present three contrasting short stories to suggest that there are some commonalities that might provide cues andclues for promoting solutions for transitions to a low-carbon economy and society.

Methods: We divide our methods section into a discussion of theory and methods. In the theory part, we explore theliteratures on sustainable electricity transitions, critical infrastructures and social acceptability of energy solutions. In themethods part, we begin from the assertion that storylines help constitute reality allowing constellations of actors tocoalesce around certain narratives. We outline the methodological approach to the reconstruction of mediatednarratives based on three short stories of electricity system transformations in Ireland.

Results: The three short stories recounted here, the future is smart; blurred lines; and policy versus place, show hownarratives of economic recovery and economic growth risk occlude sustainable electricity system transition narratives,generating conflict rather than consensus on the decarbonisation of the Irish economy and society.

Conclusions: Although the public discourse on smart grid technologies is very much in its infancy in Ireland, itsrhetorical framing is very similar to that in both the wind farm and infrastructure controversies. The lack of attention toissues of scale, ownership, rhetorical framing and the perceived distribution and fairness of costs and benefits in thesecontroversies could become equally problematic in the roll of smart grid strategies. Smarter green transitions in regionsand cities do not depend on technological innovation alone but require social and institutional innovation to ensureconstructive public engagement in sustainable electricity system transitions.

Keywords: Critical infrastructure, Networks, Reflexivity, Sustainable electricity system transitions, Media narratives

* Correspondence: g.mullally@ucc.ie1Energy, Climate and Community Response Group/Sustainability in Society,Department of Sociology, School of Sociology and Philosophy, UniversityCollege Cork, Western Road, Cork, Republic of IrelandFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

© 2016 Mullally and Byrne. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, andreproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link tothe Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Mullally and Byrne Energy, Sustainability and Society (2016) 6:3 DOI 10.1186/s13705-015-0068-2

BackgroundIntroductionOn April 15, 2014, as the cabinet of the Irish govern-ment met to consider the Climate Action and LowCarbon Development Bill, thousands marched on Lein-ster House the seat of the Irish parliament to protestagainst wind farms, pylons and transmission cables.Exactly how many thousand is, of course, disputed. Thestate broadcaster estimated RTE around 2000; the orga-nisers claimed it was closer to 4000; nevertheless, it ledto the conclusion that “Irish energy policy is under scru-tiny like never before” [1]. These developments werepreceded 2 days earlier by three separate but connectedevents: the announcement by the United Nations Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change that a large-scale transformation from energy based on fossil fuels torenewables was urgently required to contain globalwarming to 2 °C; the announcement of the shelving of amajor wind farm development in the midlands of Irelandconsisting of 1000 wind turbines generating 3 GW ofenergy exported directly to the UK grid; and newspapercoverage of a “monster rally” planned for April 15, 2014,opposing electricity infrastructure development esti-mated to draw 10,000 protestors on to the streets of thecapital. Journalist Harry Magee noted that the oppos-ition to wind farms in rural Ireland was “enough to pre-occupy Don Quixote for a lifetime”1. What this suggestsis the Irish electricity system has become the subject ofincreased societal attention and, in the process, has be-come intensely political. In Ireland, electricity accountsfor less than one fifth (19 %) of energy consumption [2].Nevertheless, electricity is expected to play a significantrole in the transition to a carbon neutral society. If theelectricity system can be decarbonised, it could providethe opportunity for low-carbon energy for transport andheating. EU policy documents describe smart energy in-frastructure as central for addressing the societal chal-lenge of transitioning to an energy-efficient low-carboneconomy [3]. Amin defines smart grids as “a conceptand range of functionalities”, “designed to be inherentlyflexible, accommodating a variety of production sourcesand adapting to and incorporating new technologies asthey are developed” [4]. Visions of a future smart electri-city grid hold the promise of addressing many of thecurrent challenges in energy production and distributionentailing a physical, technological and social reconfigur-ation of the system [3]. Smart electricity grids are oftenpresented as offering as a set of tools to optimise theelectricity grid and help mitigate climate change, whilere-imagining the production of electricity with microge-neration at the level of the household playing an increas-ing role in the electricity system [5]. In this sense, smartelectricity grids can be located within the larger narrativeof a transition towards a more sustainable electricity

system using an increasingly diverse range of low-carbontechnologies to achieve “minimal environmental destruc-tion, maximum social equity, and economic efficiency” [6].In a study by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the

European Commission, the smart grid is conceived of interms of a paradigm shift where “passive distributionand one way communication and flow between suppliersand consumers is going to be replaced by a new para-digm of active distribution that can dramatically changethe role of consumers” [7]. In this transition narrative,the grids of the past that were primarily about produc-tion, transmission and distribution are presently beingeclipsed by the grid of the immanent future which willfundamentally alter the relationship between the produc-tion and consumption of electricity. It also suggests adifferent model of communication than has hithertobeen the case. There remains, however, an unfortunatedistinction between “smart” and “dumb” in the discoursewhich often elides the fact that the electricity grid is infact a multi-layered infrastructure to which many ele-ments have been added through course of history [5].Smart grids will be built on top of existing infrastruc-tures and will add to the complexity and heterogeneityof the system. The ubiquity of the term smart grid hasmeant that “the actual transformation of the electricitysystem has been somewhat lost in translation” [8].Adapting Laird [9] we ask: what precisely is it that hasthe potential for change? Is it simply the replacement ofexisting fuel technologies within the current system ofcentralised top-down generation, transmission and distri-bution? And/or is it the replacement of a large fraction ofcentralised generation with more widely distributed gener-ation, with correspondingly different implications forsociety? The orthogonal nature of both of these potentialtransformations merely adds to the technological, environ-mental, economic and social complexities that interplayacross each of this domain and to the attendant increasein uncertainty in social choices. Wolsink [10] argues thatwhile the deployment of smart grid infrastructure is cru-cial for further renewables deployment, there is a tendencyto continue to neglect social determinants. He points outthat smart grid is still only “a buzz word without a precisedefinition”. Consequently, smart grids are open to “inter-pretative flexibility” [5]. A recent study of cooperation inthe global and French smart grid industry suggests thatthere is very little homogenised understanding of “what”the smart grid is and what it could be in the future [5]. Attimes, however, the emergent paradigm of a sustainableelectricity system facilitated by smart grids is portrayed asinexorable (if not yet real and present). Burch [11] stressesthat new technologies are not simply exogenously im-posed on a social context but are a part of a web of rules,institutions and practices that shape the likelihood andnature of innovation and diffusion.

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The importance of contextBoyle [12] and Curtin [13] point out that the publica-tion of the International Energy Agency Smart GridRoadmap and the European Commission’s Communi-cation on a Smart Grid Deployment has placed theconcept of the smart grid at the top of the politicalagenda in Europe. In Ireland, this resonates with the offi-cial policy narrative established in the Irish government’s“Building Ireland’s Smart Economy: A Framework forSustainable Economic Renewal” 2008 [14], where smartgrids are primarily imagined as generating new economicopportunities. The Irish government has emphasised thestrategic importance of the transmission network andother energy infrastructures, including renewables, tobroader economic and social policy goals [15]. Several re-cent studies on energy transitions in Ireland [12, 15, 16]have highlighted the importance of socio-political andsocio-cultural acceptance in the transformation of the Irishelectricity system wherein smart grids are seen as being in-creasingly relevant.Ireland is implicated in a number of smart grid pro-

jects including the North Atlantic Green Zone (cover-ing the northwest of Ireland, including parts of bothNorthern Ireland and the Republic) [7] and Green E-motion focused on smart mobility [17]. Several tech-nical and economic studies have also been carried outon different constituent elements of the roll-out ofthe smart grid in Ireland. These include economic ana-lyses of the immediate deployment of the smart grid [18],consumer awareness of smart grid [19], smart meters [20],microgeneration [21], the role of smart grids in renewablepower integration [22] and high wind power integration inthe electricity grid [23]. These studies variously emphasisea cost-benefit analysis of smart grid policy [24], diffusion ofinnovation models based on Rogers [19, 20, 25], the opti-mal (financial and environmental) regional distribution ofhybrid energy systems [21], optimal (technical and eco-nomic) integration of grid-connected microgenerationtechnologies at household level [26] and the technical andmarket challenges for high wind power integration in thegrid [22, 23]. Where societal engagement is considered, itis largely confined to consumer acceptance/awareness andeducation [19, 24].Curtin [13], in a comprehensive overview of a

sustainable electricity system in Ireland, calls for anew narrative around decarbonisation built upon thedeployment of a smart grid, retrofit of buildings,electrification of transport, increasing penetration ofwind into the energy system, and developing the gridto facilitate the connection and connecting Ireland’sgrid more fully with the Northern European Grid.Any new narrative, however, will have to contendwith, and perhaps contest, existing narratives in theIrish context.

Our approachOur contribution to the workshop Smart Energy SystemTransition in Cities and Regions and in this special edi-tion is slightly different. Our focus here is less on thetechno-economic and policy dimensions of smart gridsthan on the cultural opportunities for locating them inpublic (specifically mediated) discourses on sustainableelectricity in Ireland. This is quite challenging given thatexisting visions of future smart grids per se are relativelyuncontested when compared with, for example, thegrassroots mobilisation in other countries against smartmeters [3]. Nevertheless, following Skjølsvold et al., wesuggest that too sharp a distinction between so-calleddumb and smart grids is problematic.For all of the allusion to the virtual contained in the

imagery of the smart grid (e.g. [27]), its social embeddingdepends on the development of new material infrastruc-ture that has the potential to divide as well as connect.Any discussion of a sustainable electricity system thatseeks to exclude the challenges already encountered inthe development of the necessary infrastructure for thegrids of the future (e.g. generation, transmission and dis-tribution) could further render the physical and materialdimensions of electricity systems “invisible” [5, 28, 29]and occlude potential lessons to be learnt about socio-cultural barriers to deployment.What is equally challenging is the ambiguous status of

regions in Ireland “with their increasing fluidity acrossceaselessly shifting boundaries” [30]. Rather than providinga fixed geographical point of reference or cultural identitymarker, regions in Ireland are a flexible construct perform-ing multiple, often overlapping, environmental (e.g. waterand waste management), economic, political and adminis-trative (e.g. EU and local government) functions. Regionsin Ireland are open to quite permissive interpretations. Forexample, the Republic of Ireland can plausibly be inter-preted as a region within the EU [31], which in turn can beinterpreted as a region in the wider global context [32]. Inthe context of the constitutional settlement with regard toNorthern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland can be regardedas a region in the context of the so-called British Isles [33].Regions can similarly be interpreted to indicate the sub-national level, to distinguish between Dublin as the capitalcity and locus of central government and the rest of thecountry, or alternatively between the urban and the rural[34]. Lennon and Scott [35] suggest that while energy sys-tems often remain hidden or unobserved in an urban con-text, rural communities experience the consequences of ashift to low-carbon technologies more directly as biofuels,solar energy and wind energy, and associated electricity in-frastructure (e.g. mega-pylon projects) change the appear-ance and function of rural places. Abstract or invisiblesystems are often rendered “visible” in times of controversyand conflict.

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Accordingly, we have approached the subject matterby focusing on discourses of sustainable electricity in theIrish print media, with particular attention to both theframing and the scalar referents of the debate. We beginby considering some of the theoretical literature on en-ergy (specifically electricity systems) transitions, criticalinfrastructures and social acceptability. Our centralquestion research question is What lessons can emergenttechno-optimistic solutions to electricity system transi-tions learn from contemporary infrastructure controver-sies? Using a reconstruction based on print mediacoverage over a 12-month period in Ireland, we presentthree contrasting short stories: (1) a declaratory dis-course on elements of the smart grid that is uncontro-versial but is heretofore confined to a narrow nationaldiscourse coalition; (2) a private sector discourse onelectricity for export centred on the midlands region ofIreland that generated substantial oppositional civil soci-ety mobilisation but was ultimately abandoned due to ashift in energy policy in the UK; and (3) a public sectordiscourse on upgrading the electricity grid as a pre-requisite for an electricity system transition to a low-carbon economy and society that was greeted with thehighest level of objection in the history of the Irish state.Despite the contrasting features of these cases, we sug-gest that there are some commonalities that might pro-vide cues and clues for promoting solutions fortransitions to a low-carbon economy and society.

MethodsTheory and methodTheory: sustainable electricity transitions, critical infrastructuresand social acceptabilitySpecific constellations and conditions of power, para-digms (knowledge) and conflict intersect to create orprevent a transition/transformation of the social order[36]. The energy system has been characterised as acomplex adaptive societal system comprised of all of theactors and artefacts that together produce the societalfunction energy [37]. The opening line of an Irish gov-ernment policy statement puts it far less prosaically stat-ing that “energy is the lifeblood of Ireland’s economyand society” [38]. Lennon and Scott [35] point out thatalthough energy systems and social systems are oftenhighly interconnected, “the forms in which societies areenergised are often hidden from direct observation, es-pecially in the case of more distant forms of energy” inan era of interconnected smart grid spanning continents.At the technological level alone, the extent of intercon-nectedness is immense: “electric power grids are amongthe most complex networks ever made” [4]. The trad-itional centralised system where electricity flows fromlarge power plants through the transmission and distri-bution networks to (passive) consumers is characterised

by a high degree of inertia [39]. The resilience of energysystems requires adaptability, as well as “the dynamicinterplay between infrastructures and social structures”.A balanced mixture of centralised/decentralised energyproduction tends to make for more “robust systems andmore reliable energy security” [40].Negotiating the transition from a fossil fuel-based,

mostly centralised, system to one that is more renewablebased, diverse and more decentralised is a significantchallenge [41]. An energy transition is a complex processthat involves “co-evolving markets, networks, institu-tions, technologies, policies, individual behaviour andautonomous trends” [37]. Energy transitions involvingthe shift from one regime to another are conceptualisedin the transition literature as occurring when landscapepressures destabilise prevailing regimes, providing break-through opportunities for promising niches [37]. The en-ergy sector is therefore “a strategic action field: betweenstability and transformation” [42]. Carley and Andrews lo-cate this within a “sustainability electricity scale spectrum”:composed of a combination of conventional macro-generation facilities, increased integration of micro-grid sys-tems, distributed generation, microgeneration units andend-user efficiency. For example, a policy structure whichputs a large emphasis on micro-grids could enable citizensto “become much more participatory in their energyprovision” [6]. This, critically, also has the capacity to fosterbehavioural change at the demand side, leading to potentialfor significant change in terms of both overall large-scalegeneration demand and carbon emissions associated withenergy provision. This contrasts directly with the outcomesassociated with either the maintenance of a traditional top-down “big transmission and distribution” model or the de-velopment of a market-driven top-down “energy servicescompanies” model, which promote a “high level of passivityfrom consumers” and actually result in increased projectedoverall demand and poorer reductions in carbon emissions[43]. In short, such models are structurally problematic asthey tend to promote the continuation of unsustainable,innovation-led consumptive growth. Visions of future elec-tricity systems in Europe vary considerably in scope andscale, but while “currently political considerations andeconomies of scale seem to favour large solutions, the em-phasis in smart grid discussions also focuses on local andregional solutions for the challenges electricity grids are fa-cing” [39].Van der Vleuten et al. identify a common view of

infrastructure as: “technologies of connection that play aconstitutive and integrative role in economies andsocieties”. Related terms, such as “networks” or “largetechnical systems”, convey understandings of connectiv-ity and “an integrative foundation for modern societies”[44]. They draw our attention to “myth of ever increas-ing connectivity” in modern society, which they argue

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masks a paradox of connection and rupture since infra-structure can divide as well as connect [44]. Latour [45]draws our attention to the “empty spaces” created bynetworks. The creation of the requisite infrastructure foran electricity network often assumes that spaces betweenthe networks are empty, a void to be filled by persuadingcommunities of the social necessity of the infrastructure,and that its social cost can be defrayed through compen-sation and community gain. As the JRC research hasfound, it is generally the case that the social acceptanceof large infrastructure projects is mostly interested inthe passive consent for the construction of such projects[7]. Alternatively, the smart grid literature often im-agines its publics, the consumers of immanent systemconfigurations as homo economicus to be informed oreducated through visualisations of energy consumptionvia smart meters. This is largely based upon implicit def-icit models and assumptions of typical publics that canstructure scientific discourse. Our point here is not onlyto cast aspersions on the necessity of visions but to alsohighlight the equal importance of reflection. Any nichelevel innovation (in spite of any claims to being theemergent dominant social model) struggling for ascen-dance will often try to establish legitimacy by recourseto a discourse of technological innovation—“We havethe technology, this time it will be different”! The riskhere of course is that it neglects the issue of path de-pendence and the old adage that those who fail to learnthe lessons of history are condemned to repeat its mista-kes—when driving towards a destination, it is good prac-tice to occasionally glance at a rear view mirror.Anything less implies an ahistorical, decontextualisedapproach that already builds in the seeds of societal re-jection. As Ballo suggests, the gap between the futureimaginaries of a techno-epistemic network and commu-nication to the public seems to be contingent on howthese networks imagine publics. Grids, smart or other-wise, are an abstract concept. As academics or practi-tioners, we can map them and model them; as citizens,our point of connection is often literally “plug in”. Ouraccess to the wider systemic reality often only surfacesat the level of contestation and controversy. The socialembedding of technological solutions is less dependenton their rationality, but on their social acceptability.That said, controversies provide a window on the con-textual conditions that could influence the success andfailure factors of potential technological solutions topressing social problems. Reflexive approaches to soci-etal engagement [12] have begun to attract attentionover the last decade or so where an emphasis on theparticipation of many social groups crossing multiplelevels of society has become more commonplace. Tech-nology only achieves societal acceptance when it has thesupport of experts, policymakers and citizens; people are

willing to adopt and use it in their own specific contexts;and they have some say in shaping the technology [10].Public discontent and social rejection of new infrastruc-tures highlight a key challenge for sustainable technologyproliferation: “no matter how brilliant the technology orperfect the scheme” [30], any challenging technology willdepend on how it is “built into society” [31]. This indicatesa need for an improved understanding of key contextualfactors such as scale, ownership, rhetorical framing andthe perceived distribution and fairness of costs and benefits’[12].

MethodsWe begin from the proposition following Lennon andScott (2015) that probing the constitution of alternativefutures creates sensitivity to the social complexity of rea-lising low-carbon transitions in economically dominateddecision contexts [28]. Equally, we agree with their as-sertion that storylines help constitute reality allowingconstellations of actors to coalesce around certain narra-tives. The empirical section of the paper is based on thecontention that the media plays a key role in the produc-tion, transformation and dissemination of knowledge[46]. The research follows a deductive-inductive loop[47, 48], beginning with a content analysis of Irish news-papers using the Nexis-Lexis database.The initial search was based on a content analysis of

the data informed by the key structuring aspects of theliterature on the social dimensions of smart grids. Keyterms like smart grids/electricity grids, smart meters/electricity meters, electric cars, microgeneration, micro-grids, distributed generation, solar power, hydro-electricity, biomass, wind power, sustainable energy andsustainable electricity were used to construct the dataset. Given the high-profile coverage of the pylon contro-versy in Ireland, it was added as a further search termindependently. Recognising the agenda-setting functionof broadsheets [48], we decided to confine our search tofive national newspapers (three daily newspapers andtwo weekly/Sunday newspapers). Taking the convergentevents of mid-April 2014 as our point of departure, webackcast over the previous 12 months to examine thepathways and trajectories of various components of apotential electricity transitions storyline.The timeframe is, therefore, between April 15, 2013,

and April 15, 2014. We chose to filter our search furtherby confining it to “major mentions” in national broadsheetnewspapers. In searching for the various elements thatmake up the smart grid, several elements do not really fea-ture in Irish media discourse: terms like microgeneration,micro-grids and distributed generation do not appear atall in the timeframe considered, nor indeed does sustain-able electricity as a specific phrase. Hydro-energy, waveenergy and biomass only appear in the context of

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discussion of wind power and specific energy efficiencymeasures. While solar energy does appear (n = 51), it islarge in the context of the investment portfolios of Irishenergy companies outside of the Irish context, i.e. inter-nationally, and has been excluded therefore from the sam-ple. The total sample for the study consists of 512newspaper articles during a 12-month period. If we con-sider the total coverage over the sample period, 63 % isdominated by coverage of controversies around electricityinfrastructure (Fig. 1). The coverage of electricity infra-structure is in turn dominated by two specific controver-sies: proposals to generate electricity for export fromindustrial-scale wind farms in the midlands region andproposals to upgrade and extend the electricity grid aspart of a large-scale strategic investment in the Irish elec-tricity system cross-cutting different Irish regions.

Results and discussionThree short stories: “the future is smart”, “blurred lines”and “policy versus place”

1. The future is smartThe integration of high levels of wind onto Ireland’ssmall and relatively isolated grid has spurred thedeployment of some aspects of the smart grid.There is effectively only one electricity grid and onemarket on the island of Ireland. There is a singleowner of the networks on the island of Ireland(ESB Networks [incorporating NIE]): “ESBNetworks operates the part of the grid known asthe distribution system…this is the part of the gridnetwork in which significant infrastructuralinvestment is required to facilitate the emergence ofa smart grid” [13]. There is also a singletransmission system operator (EirGrid plc.(incorporating EirGrid and Systems OperatorNorthern Ireland)). This means a limited number ofparties are involved in promoting a particularstrategic direction. Stakeholder engagement hasbeen driven by Smart Grid Ireland, which is anindustry-led network of organisations based in, or

operating out of, Northern Ireland and the Republicof Ireland—seeking to jointly exploit new commer-cial opportunities in the smart grid sector, locally,nationally and internationally. Member organisa-tions are drawn from industry, research bodies, uni-versities and government agencies. The SustainableEnergy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has also taken aleading role in coordinating the voice of variousstakeholders by convening a group aimed at the de-velopment of a roadmap for the deployment of thesmart grid to 2050: Many of the elements of thesmart grid associated with the transmission systemare already in place, arising from the high levels ofwind penetration.If we turn to the media coverage of the smart griddiscourse, what we can see traversing categorieslike sustainable energy, smart grid, electric cars andenergy efficiency is the emergence of a “discoursecoalition” [49] taking shape around niche levelinnovations for components of smart gridtechnologies and systems that mirror the policynarrative identified above. The narrative is largelysustained in the business and motoring sections ofthe newspapers. The category of sustainable energyis largely dominated by coverage and publicity forinitiatives by the SEAI which emphasise regainingcontrol over our electricity system and energyindependence through renewable energy. Toillustrate the point, if we removed references toSEAI from our sample, the sustainable energycategory would shrink to around 4 % of the sample.The theme of control resurfaces in the energyefficiency category, but in this case, it is focused ongiving the customer control through the use ofsmart meters2. While the media discourse on smartgrids is certainly in the early stages of developmentand diffusion, there is something of an inexorablequality about the discourse. An advisor to the ESB’s€200 million Cleantech Fund summarising theopportunities for Irish business captures this verywell: “wind is taking off, solar has arrived, smart

Fig. 1 Total coverage over the sample period

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grid is coming. It’s clear there will be changes in theway electricity is generated, transported andconsumed…if we can crack smart grid, we will haveintellectual property we can export across Europeand the planet”3. Certainly, the discourse may wellevolve in time to include the potential for socialand regional innovation within its narrative, but inthis case, the scalar references are national andglobal.This story resonates with Ballo’s [3] research onNorway that shows that the discourse of the futuresmart grid is taking place between a network ofactors with recognised expertise, competence andknowledge “in the drivers’ seat” of a process ofcomprehensive socio-technical change. Ballo sug-gests that the visions of these actors are partiallyconditioned by national, technological and eco-nomic imaginations of the future. It may be pru-dent, however, to occasionally look to both the pastand the present to understand how the transform-ation of the physical, technological and social con-figuration of the electricity system might potentiallybe greeted by the public. Beyond the techno-economic optimism of the prospects for export-ledgrowth lays the contentious nature of physical in-frastructure development in Ireland best illustratedby the cases of wind farm development and grid in-frastructure development.

2. Blurred linesThe second case has its origins in a memorandumof understanding (MoU) for renewable energytrading between the Irish and UK government inJanuary 2013. According to Lennon and Scott, twoprivately financed companies Element Power andMainstream Renewable Power sought to capitaliseupon this development with a plan to export all ofthe energy to the UK from a number of wind farmsproposed for the Irish midlands and be directlyconnected to the UK grid via existing submarinetransmission cables[35].The sample begins by putting the story of Irishwind in context. “It is only 21 years since the firstwind farm in Ireland opened for business…there isnow 161 wind farms across the country capable ofproducing 1,755 MW of power…25 large scale-projects will be connected to the grid by 2020, andanother 74 to the ESB network”.4 “Concern aboutclimate change means that 40 % of all electricitymust be produced from renewable sources andmost of it is coming from wind”.5 The article pointsout that the 99 (major wind) projects due to comeon stream by 2020 are at an advanced planningstage and have been given dates for connection tothe national grid and also that offers to connect

additional capacity bring the total up to 4000 MW.The most controversial of these involve two plansfor large-scale farms in the midlands to serve theUK market. “One is from Mainstream RenewablePower, which plans to build farms producing5000 MW of power for export to Britain via under-ground cables. The second is from Element Power,which has struck a deal with the UK’s national gridto supply it with wind energy from 40 plannedfarms”.A conference on wind energy in Co. Offaly co-hosted by Mainstream Renewable Power provides aglimpse of the debate in microcosm. The CEO ofMainstream Renewable Power spoke about the needto reassure opponents of wind farms in the mid-lands if Ireland is to benefit from “a ‘once in a gen-eration’ chance of capitalising on its wind energyresources”. Meanwhile, protestors outside the con-ference were chanting slogans like “Welcome to themidlands, England’s offshore wind farm”6. Windfarms have also been subject to party political con-testation as the leader of Fianna Fáil, the main op-position party, has also adopted the storyline thatthe midlands’ proposals were “scaring communitiesand causing division”, claiming “a lack of transpar-ency governing such developments, and no consult-ation with local communities”7. Meanwhile, theIrish government Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, ad-dressing the annual Irish Wind Energy Associationconference in October, argued that concerns aboutwind farms in the midlands had been “needlesslystoked by unthinking communication by somedevelopers”8.A second wind farm story that stands in directcontrast to the wind for export narrative of themidlands controversy was also present in our mediasample. The Minister for Communications, Energyand Natural Resources used the occasion of theofficial opening of the first Irish communitydeveloped wind farm in Templederry, Co.Tipperary, to stress the need for consultation on anational planning policy for renewable energyexport. He also drew a distinction between the“community initiative which produces energy fordomestic consumption and the separate question ofdeveloping renewable energy for export”. It is worthreflecting on the official press release as it providesus with an insight into the systems thinkingstructuring electricity policy:

While the debate continues over how best to tacklerising energy costs, insecurity of supply, and theobvious downsides of a carbon driven energy sector, it

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has become increasingly apparent that what is neededis a broad mix of both top-down and bottom-up ini-tiatives. The Templederry project is, I believe, a tem-plate for the future and I fully expect to see manymore of these community led projects, where localpeople seize the initiative in powering Ireland for the21st Century [49].

At first glance, this seems to be encouraging localcommunities to “seize the initiative” themselveswhile recognising a potential framework fordistributed generation, but in reality it offersnothing by way of either structural or policysupport and appears to explain the equating ofcommunity with self-sufficiency as discussed earlier.Perhaps Paul Kenny of Tipperary Energy Agency,closely involved with the Templederry CommunityWind Farm Project, provides useful insight on thenature of the fragmentation when he reflects “Thebottom line is that the negative lobby has beendriven by fear of the very big projects that havevery little community input or gain. There was noissue before the big projects came on stream, andwhat people are attacking is wind energy, but whatthey should be attacking is corporate dominanceover our energy supplies” [50].In 2014, political struggles between the UKgovernment and the European Commission onbinding targets for renewables in 2030, however,began to overshadow local controversies. By March2014, it had become apparent that talks had stalledbetween the British and Irish governments on theexport deal to the UK; consequently, the midlandsdevelopments appeared to be under threat.9 TheMinister for Communications, Energy and NaturalResources argued that despite the shelving of theproject that “in the context of the internal marketand greater integration, greater trade in energybetween Britain and Ireland is inevitable in the post2020 scenario”10.Members of one of the opposition groups in theMeath/Westmeath area argued that they were notanti-wind and fully understood the need for renew-ables, but “the Department of the Environment andthe Department of Energy had not engaged withcommunities on the issues”11. The Irish Times,characterised the 5th IPCC report on climatechange as a “wake-up call on energy”: “whether ornot a wind energy export opportunity materialisesin the future may be in the lap of the gods followingthe collapse of a proposed agreement with the Brit-ish government, but there can be no doubt thatwind and other forms of renewable energy will beelements of a global transition to a low carbon

economy no longer reliant on fossil fuels – and veryheavily so in Ireland’s case”.12 The National Eco-nomic and Social Council noting a shift from broadsocial support for wind energy growth and of elec-tricity infrastructure to a “more critical mood” pub-lished Wind Energy in Ireland: Building CommunityEngagement and Social Support in July 2014 toexamine best practice in Ireland and internationally[51].The case in the midlands region shares certaincommon features with the previous narrative inthat there is a somewhat inexorable quality aboutthe framing of the issue by both the developers andthe Irish government. At one level, this sustained adiscourse coalition around the energy for exportnarrative and that the opposition cannot stand inthe way of the future. Where the storylines becomeblurred is along the public/private, internal(Republic of Ireland)/external (UK), andopportunity/threat axes. Certainly, to begin with,there was a shared narrative of national interest andfuture economic development possibilities amongthe developers and policymakers. Ultimately, thenarrative of “national interest” and “communitygain” was successfully countered, by a narrative ofpost-colonialism and external threat. The dominantnarrative of economic renewal was undercut bymore traditional narratives where the nationalinterest was in direct opposition to more traditionalconstructions of community.Returning to our framework, issues of scale,ownership, rhetorical framing and the perceiveddistribution and fairness of costs and benefits sawthe “national interest” subsumed within historicalpost-colonial narratives. Any discussion of local orcommunity contributions to electricity system tran-sitions was effectively crowded out by the contro-versy surrounding the industrial scale of midlandsproposals. Equally, any notion of community gainwas eclipsed by a perception of private gain. Thefact that none of the electricity produced wouldfeed into the Irish electricity system also broke anyconnection with the broader debate on addressingclimate change in Ireland. What it did feed into wasa very potent historical narrative around the per-ceived distribution and fairness of the cost and ben-efits wherein the UK would benefit and the costwould ultimately fall on Irish communities. Thegovernment, opposition parties and the oppositionto the development did converge around one point,namely that the form of communication by the de-velopers with communities was partially to blamein creating the controversy. The successful refram-ing of the issue by oppositional groups meant that

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the factually disconnected issues of the proposals inthe midlands and the upgrading of the national gridbecame rhetorically conflated. The issue in the mid-lands became the “cause célèbre” for regional op-position to infrastructural dimensions of electricitysystem transitions in Ireland.

3. Policy versus placeIn 2008, EirGrid, Ireland’s transmission systemoperator, embarked on an investment programmeknown as Grid 25—A Strategy for the Developmentof Ireland’s Electricity Grid for a Sustainable andCompetitive Future. In July 2010, the Departmentof Communications, Energy and Natural Resourcespublished Government Policy Statement on theStrategic Importance of Transmission and OtherEnergy Infrastructure. Both documents highlightedthe strategic importance of the electricity networkfor the twenty-first century.

Our ability to rebuild the economy, deliver regionaldevelopment, create jobs and growth and ensure thewellbeing of everyone as well as realising theeconomic potential of Ireland’s own renewable energyresources requires significant energy infrastructure.And starting now, over the coming years, Irelandneeds to deliver a world class electricity transmissionsystem in all the regions which meets the needs ofIreland in the 21st Century. [38]

Grid 25 proposals come under the ambit of thefast-track planning processes under the StrategicInfrastructure Act introduced in 2006 to “securespeedier delivery of key infrastructure through pro-viding a one-step consent procedure, rather thanthe conventional development control process”[28]. Several recent studies on energy transitions inIreland [14, 51, 52] have, however, increasinglyhighlighted the importance of socio-political accept-ance in the transformation of the Irish electricitysystem. Research linking best practice on social en-gagement internationally and the Irish context hasbeen reviewed by NESC [51]. In 2013, the GreenEuropean Foundation (GEF) published “SustainableDemocratic Energy for Ireland and Europe: A casefor renewables and participation” [12]. Accordingly,both EirGrid and the Irish government were expli-cit on the need for public acceptability, and EirGriddeveloped its public consultation roadmap—ProjectDevelopment and Consultation Roadmap [53]. Twoof the Irish studies [12, 14] published prior to thecontroversy characterise the process in the EirGrid,Grid 25 projects as a step change in communityconsultation in Ireland. Nevertheless, from 2013onwards proposals to develop and modernise the

electricity grid have also mobilised significant op-position, specifically the construction of 400-kVoverhead lines and associated pylons across ruralregions: from Munster to Leinster (“Grid Link”),across Connaught (“Grid West”) and cross-borderbetween the Republic of Ireland and NorthernIreland from Leinster to Ulster (“North-SouthInterconnector”). Rather than a step change incommunity consultation, the proposals led to oneof the largest community mobilisations since theIrish anti-nuclear movements in the 1970s [53] andthe receipt of 35,000 submissions related to grid in-frastructure in January 2014.National opposition to pylons only gatheredmomentum in earnest from October 2013 onwardsbut spread very quickly. In October, an article inthe Sunday Independent pointed out that “apeople’s revolt against a controversial (EURO) 3.2bnpower project that will dot 4,000 new high voltagepylons over much of rural Ireland is gatheringmomentum with dozens of towns and villagesacross the country banding together to fight theplan”13. From the outset, the aim of the oppositiongroups centred on the undergrounding of the gridupgrades. EirGrid’s planned upgrades are supportedby business lobby group Chambers Ireland as “vitalfor business”14. Grid Link is one of three elementsof EirGrid’s Grid 25 plan to upgrade and reinforcethe national grid by 2025. A second is the North-South Interconnector which has been opposed inMeath, Monahan and Cavan, and Grid West hasproved to be less controversial. In November 2013,groups opposed to the new Grid Link plan to con-nect Leinster and Munster began to link with theNorth East Pylon Pressure Group, when a group of1000 people gathered at a public meeting to galvan-ise opposition nationally, and an estimated 1500people hiked through the Comeragh Mountains inCo. Waterford in protest against Grid Link. In lateNovember, the Minister for Agriculture, Food andthe Marine became embroiled in the controversy atthe annual general meeting of the Irish Creameryand Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) in Co.Limerick. The president of the ICMSA reflectedwhat he saw as the view in rural Ireland: “there is avery real sense that as far as Eirgrid – and, to alesser extent, the state – is concerned, that the mat-ter has been settled and that us poor culchies [de-rogatory term for rural dwellers] are just going tohave to deal with a decision that is already made”15.Given the scale of the reaction in rural communi-ties and the political fallout within the Energy Min-ister’s own (labour) party, the deadline for publicconsultation on the proposals was extended until

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January 7, 2014. In December, a Sunday Independentpoll of TDs (MPs) and Senators on the Oireachtas(Parliament) Communication Committee wanted theproject to go underground. A recurrent theme in thenewspaper coverage is that “there is a sense that lipservice is being paid to communities, and they arenot being listened to”16.As the consultation period drew to a close in earlyJanuary 2014, the Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources conceded that“consultation between national authorities andcommunities concerned over the erection of pylonshad not been good enough”17. The Minister forJobs, Enterprise and Innovation weighed in arguingthat the infrastructure was necessary for regionaldevelopment: “the criticism I would get frompolitical colleagues is that there isn’t a spread onemployment growth, that it’s becoming too urbancentric, too Dublin centric. Clearly, if we want tohave the regional spread we have to be able to offerthe infrastructures – robust infrastructure –acrossthe country”18. After the submission deadline, itemerged that 35,000 people had contacted EirGridas part of the consultation process. A particularlyacerbic article in the Irish Independent noted that“electricity may be the physical energy at the heartof this controversy but, make no mistake, the realdriving force here is trust – or the lack of it…Theswitch has been thrown. The game is on. A rowabout safety standards and electrical pylons hasbecome something closer to a debate about truthand power”19.The ongoing organisation of anti-pylon protestorsand the threat to target the local election continuedthroughout January with the announcement by thePylon Alternative Alliance that groups from aroundthe country have been meeting since Decemberwith a view to targeting the local elections. Thegroup has modelled itself loosely on the structureof the Gaelic Athletic Association (a national sport-ing and cultural association with independent par-ish and community groups linking into a countyand central committee).In January 28, the Minister for Communications,Energy and Natural Resources announced theformation of an independent panel headed by aformer high court judge to fully review theundergrounding of cables. The independent panelwill “help assess the options of running the cablesunderground or overground. It will advise Eirgridon the terms of reference for the studies …the twostudies would take account of the environmental,technical and cost factors. Studies will also takeaccount of the impacts on tourism and equine

health. And an updated report on the health impactof high voltage lines will also be commissioned”20.At the same time, EirGrid announced details ofcompensation packages for landowners and fundsfor effected communities. However, the PylonAlternative Alliance characterised thecompensation package as premature. Reflecting onthe pylon controversy, the CEO of EirGridconceded that the “national grid operator obviouslydid not do a good job explaining to communitiesthat the power lines would not be used to exporthelp export power from large-scale wind farms pro-posed for the midland”21. He highlighted the needfor broader social acceptance rooted in clear proce-dures, which is world presenting at length:

I think we need to come to a view, as a society, whatis the process we go through, (where) the publicknows, and communities know, this is where I canengage, this is how I can influence, and this is what’sgoing to happen. And developers similarly know theseare the stages that it’s going to go through. I think weneed to get to a point where there’s a process that’saccepted by society in its widest possible context.

The case for undergrounding was challenged by astatement made by the Commissioner for EnergyRegulation stating that “end-users would be hit by ahike of at least 3 % in their annual bills”22. ByMarch 2014, a poll by the Sunday Independent/Millward Brown found that 70 % of voters “wantthe state to abandon controversial plans to erectgiant pylons across the countryside and instead putthe project underground”23.In April, the Minister for Communications, Energyand Natural Resources announced that hisdepartment, along with the Department of theEnvironment, and the National Economic andSocial Council were now looking at “best practicein other countries in the area of social acceptanceand community engagement in infrastructureprojects”24. Perhaps a fitting postscript to the casewas the publication of Green Paper on EnergyPolicy in May [50] and the identification of possibleunderground routes for the Grid West project byEirGrid in June 2014.25 Referencing the greenpaper, a commentary in the Irish Times suggeststhat while it is all very well “to rebrand us all asenergy citizens, collectively probing Ireland’spathway towards a low carbon, inclusivecompetitive and secure energy society” this must belocated within “an overall framework of goals andpolicies to enable citizens to play an active role inachieving this aspiration in the context of

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environmental sustainability”26. Reacting toEirGrid’s exploration of underground routes for theGrid West project, a commentary in the samenewspaper summarised the controversy in anutshell: “The centralisation of power stiflesdiscourse so that public consultation can be seen asan unwelcome irritant. Distant paternalism frownedon active, informed citizenship and local anger,rather than critical analysis, was the reaction”27.One of the outcomes of the controversy was thatthe discourse coalition built around the narrative ofnational recovery and regional development cameinto conflict with a rhetorical framing bycommunities that pitted a national discourse oflow-carbon development against sustainable com-munity, state versus community and urban versusrural. In effect, it created regions of protest. In part,this was created by a paradox in the institutionalarchitecture governing critical infrastructure forlarge-scale socio-technical systems. The lessonslearnt in the midlands controversy are equally ap-plicable to this case. As Lennon and Scott point out,the rescaling of the planning process to the nationallevel for projects falling under the provisions ofstrategic infrastructure legislation bypass public in-volvement in statutory procedures at local level andeffectively reconceptualise “public interest” as “na-tional interest”[28]. This suggests that there arestructural as well as cultural roots to the contro-versy, where the seeds of discontent are alreadypresent in attempts to curtail public involvement inlarge-scale projects in the national interest [54].They also point out that these debates set up in-tractable collisions where the conflict between theglobal environment (e.g. climate change) and thelocal environment (e.g. rural land use and healthconcerns) led to contention, rather than consensuson the direction of a transition to a post-carboneconomy and society [35]. Indeed, any connectionto narratives relating to energy transitions, climatechange or international obligations was over-whelmed by the dominance of economic storyline.The postscript to this story is that a sparked seriesof measures that suggest that another outcome ofthe controversy may be that some social learninghas taken place. In addition to government actions,e.g. the establishment of the Independent ExpertPanel that reported in October 2015, EirGridundertook a review of its own public consultationprocedures in 2014 [55] and launched a draft GridDevelopment Strategy for consultation in March2015 [56]. EirGrid has also revisited its plans todevelop new infrastructure in the Grid West andGrid Link proposals. In the case of Grid West,

EirGrid promised to explore the potential ofundergrounding the infrastructure. Moreimportantly, in the case of Grid Link, theyintroduced what they have labelled the “RegionalOption” [57]. The Regional Option uses atechnology known as “series compensation”. “Thiswould be the first time it will be deployed on theIrish transmission grid. It is an advanced, smartgrid technology that will enable more power to flowthrough existing lines, and so does not require new400 kV overhead lines” [57]. The current Ministerfor Energy Alex White welcomed the IndependentExpert Panel’s view that the emergence of a thirdoption means that no significant new Grid Linktransmission infrastructure, either overhead orunderground, will be built in the short to mediumterm [58]. He also noted that the outcome“demonstrates that meeting citizens' concerns aboutenergy infrastructure can be compatible with takingthe necessary steps to decarbonise our energysystem and tackle global warming” [58]. In acurious twist in the tale, these controversies maywell have accelerated the use of smart gridtechnologies to advert costly and divisive conflictson these scales in the future.

ConclusionsTowards a smarter future electricity system?The three transition tales reconstructed here may wellbe particular to the Irish context, but they areentangled in the wider nets of globalisation, climatechange and the need for energy transitions in thetwenty-first century. The debate around the trans-formation of the Irish electricity system in Ireland issuffused with a narrative of optimism (technological,economic, policy), nationalism (energy independence,Ireland as a world leader in smart grids) and con-sumerism (often under a banner of enhanced eco-nomic competitiveness and attractiveness to globalisedinward investment).Although the public discourse on smart grid technolo-

gies is very much in its infancy in Ireland, its rhetoricalframing is very similar to that in both the wind farm andinfrastructure controversies. As of yet, based on analysisof the cases presented herein, the space for public dis-course on smart energy transitions in regions and citieshas not yet emerged. Nevertheless, the emerging policynarrative signals the growing importance of renewableelectricity sources, distributed generation and smarttechnology for the electricity system of the future.We return to our question: What lessons can emergent

techno-optimistic solutions to electricity system transi-tions learn from contemporary infrastructure controver-sies? The conflation of generation technologies with

Mullally and Byrne Energy, Sustainability and Society (2016) 6:3 Page 11 of 14

large network models has facilitated cleavage withingroups which might be viewed as having both “conserva-tive” and “progressive” tendencies. For example, businessrepresentative organisations and political leadership(across left, right and green) have supported (big)“wind”, via a continuation of the top-down mode of net-work generation and transmission, while farm represen-tative groups and many rural and community groupshave expressed opposition or concern over proposed de-velopments. Meanwhile, some environmentalists, tradeunionists and green leaders have supported the develop-ment of a proposed top-down “big” generation, trans-mission and distribution model as a means of meetingrenewable targets and the development of a Europeansuper grid and for the potential to create economicgrowth and, by extension, jobs. Other environmental ac-tivists by contrast oppose the environmental and visualdestruction associated with large pylons and wind farmsand the lack of any real benefits to, or engagement by,local communities. There has been very little public de-bate favouring microgeneration, biomass or energy con-servation measures as alternatives or supplements to aprofit-driven generation and distribution system.What these controversies show is that a focus on

technological and physical infrastructure developmentthat neglects to give due attention to the institutionaland social infrastructure on which to build the social ac-ceptability of solutions risks being sent back to thedrawing board. The lack of attention to issues of scale,ownership, rhetorical framing and the perceived distribu-tion and fairness of costs and benefits could becomeequally problematic in the roll of smart grid strategies.While the value of electricity system transitions to theeconomy is of great importance, it should not mean thatconsideration of the values underpinning such a large-scale social transformation should be ignored. As thewind farm and infrastructure controversies demonstrate,the lines between regional opposition to a specific devel-opment and widespread social opposition to key ele-ments of Irish energy policy can be become blurred veryeasily. These are lessons that need to be learned whenattempting to create any new narrative of decarbonisa-tion of the economy and society. For example, recentmoves to commercially develop “solar farms” in Irelandneed to learn from the experience of wind farms; simi-larly, plans to roll out smart electricity meters in Irelandmay need to learn from the opposition to the introduc-tion of (“dumb”) water meters in Ireland and the grow-ing opposition to smart meters in the UK.The recent introduction of neologisms like “energy cit-

izens” in Irish energy policy discourse is as of yet largelyan empty signifier [35], but one that may gain definitionthrough the lessons learned in these controversies—notjust about the need for better public engagement but

also the need to create institutional opportunities toallow for this engagement to take place. If so, smarttechnologies may well contribute to the development ofsmarter, less unsustainable societies.

Endnotes1“Events refocus minds on climate change and difficult

decisions”, Irish Times, April 14, 2014.2“Smart grids will give consumers control”, Irish

Times, November 21, 2013.3“Irish clean-tech start-ups attract the attention of Inter-

national investors”, Irish Times, September 23, 2013.4“EU renewable target is driving industry forward”,

Irish Independent, April 15, 2013.5“Concern mounts as plans to build 100 new wind

farms take shape”, Irish Independent, April 15, 2013.6“Wind farm protestors must be reassured of oppor-

tunity, forum told”, Irish Times, May 1, 2013.7“Planned turbines put the wind up locals”, Irish

Times, June 20, 2013.8“Wind farm fears needlessly stoked by developers,

says Minister”, Irish Times, October 4, 2013.9“UK ‘going it alone’ may have been a deal breaker”,

Irish Independent, March 7, 2014.10“Energy pact with Britain still ‘inevitable’ insists

Rabbite”, Irish Independent, April 14, 2014.11“There was absolutely no consultation with any of

the communities”, Irish Independent, April 14, 2014.12“Events refocus minds on climate change and difficult

decisions”, Irish Times, April 14, 2014.13“Race hero Ruby backs revolt over “gigantic” pylons;

EirGrid accused of setting neighbour against neighbourin the rollout of (EURO) 3.2bn project”, Sunday BusinessPost, October 27, 2013.

14“Groups revives campaign against Eirgrid powerline”, Irish Times, November 4, 2013.

15“Coveney denies pylon network will damage farmingsector”, Irish Independent, November 23, 2013.

16“Why opposition to project is so highly charged”,Irish Independent, December 4, 2013.

17“Rabbitte says that pylon consultations need to im-prove”, Irish Times, January 4, 2014.

18“Bruton says pylons crucial to regional job creation;Minsters says areas linked to a modern power networkwill attract investment”, Irish Times, January 6, 2014.

19“Government dimmer than a candle in a blackout ifit thinks it can park pylon row”, Irish Independent,January 11, 2014.

20“Review of pylon plan ‘election stunt’”, Irish Exam-iner, January 29, 2014.

21“We definitely could have done things better onpylons issue admit Eirgrid chief”, Irish Independent,February 17, 2014.

Mullally and Byrne Energy, Sustainability and Society (2016) 6:3 Page 12 of 14

22“Higher electricity bills for 50 years if cables are bur-ied; Electricity costs would rise 3pc per year – study”,Irish Independent, February 18, 2004.

23“Plan for a monster rally underlines 70pc oppositionto pylon plan: poll”, Sunday Independent, March 2,2014.

24“Ministers plan to find out why the public opposespylons, wind farms”, Irish Independent, April 4, 2014.

25“Eirgrid announces underground options for contro-versial Grid West pylon project”, Irish Independent, June23, 2014.

26“Towards a low carbon society”, Irish Times, May31, 2014.

27“A necessary public debate on electricity powerlines”, Irish Times, June 24, 2014.

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributionsGM designed the study, synthesised the theoretical literature and collectedand analysed the initial data. EB reviewed and synthesised the technical andpolicy literature. The paper is nevertheless a wholly collaborative venture betweenthe participating authors. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

AcknowledgementsWe would like to acknowledge Ann Michelle Mullally for her technicalassistance with the automated referencing system. We also wish to acknowledgethe support and encouragement of the journal editors and the editors of thespecial issue, as well as the participants in our workshop (Smart Energy SystemTransition in Cities and Regions) for their feedback on an earlier version of thisarticle during the ESEIA conference held on April 24 and 25, 2014, at theUniversity of Twente. The comments of the anonymous reviewers werecritical to the revision of the original submission. Finally, we wish toacknowledge our indebtedness to ongoing conversations with Paul Bolger,Paul Deane, Niall Dunphy, Brian Ó’ Gallachóir, Fionn Rogan, Colin Sage andClare Watson, all at University College, Cork, without in any wayimplicating them in our conclusions.

Author details1Energy, Climate and Community Response Group/Sustainability in Society,Department of Sociology, School of Sociology and Philosophy, UniversityCollege Cork, Western Road, Cork, Republic of Ireland. 2Energy, Climate andCommunity Response Group/Sustainability in Society Department of Processand Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University College Cork,Western Road, Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Received: 24 April 2015 Accepted: 15 December 2015

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