The Norwegian Energy Commons: Re-Thinking Dynamics Between the State, the Market and Civil Society
References
- Acosta, C., Ortega, M., Bunsen, T., Koirala, B. P., & Ghorbani, A. (2018). Facilitating Energy Transition through Energy Commons: An Application of Socio-Ecological Systems Framework for Integrated Community Energy Systems. Sustainability, 10(2), Article
2 . 10.3390/su10020366 - Agrawal, A., Erbaugh, J., & Pradhan, N. (2023). The Commons. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 48(1), 531–558. 10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113509
- Alcock, P. (2010). A strategic unity: Defining the third sector in the UK. 10.1332/204080510X496984
- Angel, J. (2017). Towards an Energy Politics In-Against-and-Beyond the State: Berlin’s Struggle for Energy Democracy. Antipode, 49(3), 557–576. 10.1111/anti.12289
- Atutxa, E., Zubero, I., & Calvo-Sotomayor, I. (2020). Scalability of Low Carbon Energy Communities in Spain: An Empiric Approach from the Renewed Commons Paradigm. Energies, 13(19), Article
19 . 10.3390/en13195045 - Avelino, F., Bosman, R., Frantzeskaki, N., Akerboom, S., Boontje, P., Hoffman, J., Paradies, G., Pel, B., Scholten, D., & Wittmayer, J. (2014). The (self-)governance of community energy: Challenges and prospects [Practice breef]. DRIFT PRACTICE BRIEF.
https://buurtenergie.today/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/LEG_documentatie_governance_PracticeBrief_CommunityEnergy_DRIFT_2014.pdf - Ban, C. (2016).
The Ruling Power of Neoliberal Ideas . In C. Ban (Ed.), Ruling Ideas: How Global Neoliberalism Goes Local. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190600389.003.0001 - Barnes, P. (2001). Who Owns the Sky?: Our Common Assets And The Future Of Capitalism (First edition). Island Press.
- Bauwens, T., Wade, R., & Burke, M. (2024). The energy commons: A systematic review, paradoxes, and ways forward. Energy Research & Social Science, 118,
103776 . 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103776 - Becker, S., Naumann, M., & Moss, T. (2017). Between coproduction and commons: Understanding initiatives to reclaim urban energy provision in Berlin and Hamburg. Urban Research & Practice, 10(1), 63–85. 10.1080/17535069.2016.1156735
- Bollier, D. (2002). Silent Theft. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203821855
- Bollier, D. (2024). Challenges in Expanding the Commonsverse. International Journal of the Commons, 18(1). 10.5334/ijc.1389
- Bollier, D., & Helfrich, S. (2012). The Wealth of the Commons A world beyond market & state. Levellers Press.
- Bryndhildsen, A., & Næss, T. J. (1992). Konsesjonskraft (NVE Publication No. Nr 16).
- Claes, D. H., & Vik, A. (2011).
Kraftsektoren: Fra samfunnsgode til handelsvare . In D. H. Claes & P. K. Mydske (Eds.), Forretning eller fordeling? : Reform av offentlige nettverkstjenester. Universitetsforlaget. - Clausen, L. T. (2016).
Re-inventing the Commons. How Action Research can support the renewal of sustainable Commons . In H. P. Hansen, B. S. Nielsen, N. Sriskandarajah, & E. Gunnarsson (Eds.), Commons, Sustainability, Democratization Action Research and the Basic Renewal of Society. Routledge. ISSN 9781138124776. - Clausen, L. T., & Cruickshank (2023).
Norsk vannkraft mellom lokale hensyn og globale utfordringer . In R. Nilsen, O. Brox, E. Eythorsson, & S. Jentoft (Eds.), Allmenningsressurser i nord felleskap og grunnrente [Common ressources in the North. Community and ground rent] (Chapt. 11, pp. 239–268). Orkana Akademisk. 10.33673/OOA20231/10 - Cumbers, A. (2012). Reclaiming public ownership: Making space for economic democracy. Zed Books Ltd. 10.5040/9781350222151
- Dardot, P., & Laval, C. (2019). Common: On revolution in the 21st century. Bloomsbury Academic.
- De Angelis, M. (2013). Does capital need a commons fix? Ephemera theory & politics in organization, 13(3), 603–615.
- de Jongh, M. (2021). Public Goods and the Commons: Opposites or Complements? Political Theory, 49(5), 774–800. 10.1177/0090591720979916
- Diaz Valdivia, A. (2023). Between decentralization and reintermediation: Blockchain platforms and the governance of ‘commons-led’ and ‘business-led’ energy transitions. Energy Research & Social Science, 98,
103034 . 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103034 - Eikeland, P. O., Taranger, K. K., Inderberg, T. H. J., & Gulbrandsen, L. H. (2023). A wind of change in Norway: Explaining shifts in municipal stances on wind power by policy feedback and energy justice. Energy Research & Social Science, 104,
103231 . 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103231 - Euler, J. (2018). The Commons: A Social Form that Allows for Degrowth and Sustainability. Capitalism. Nature Socialism, 30, 1–18. 10.1080/10455752.2018.1449874
- Faugli, P. E. (2020). Elektrisitetens forvaltningshistorie 1877–1921 (No. 12/2020). Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat.
- Fuglestad, E. M., & Almås, R. (2021). Tilbake til grunnrentelandet. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift, 38(3), 208–218. 10.18261/issn.1504-3053-2021-03-04
- Giotitsas, C., Nardelli, P. H. J., Kostakis, V., & Narayanan, A. (2020). From private to public governance: The case for reconfiguring energy systems as a commons. Energy Research & Social Science, 70,
101737 . 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101737 - Giotitsas, C., Nardelli, P. H. J., Williamson, S., Roos, A., Pournaras, E., & Kostakis, V. (2022). Energy governance as a commons: Engineering alternative socio-technical configurations. Energy Research & Social Science, 84,
102354 . 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102354 - Goldthau, A. (2012). From the State to the Market and Back: Policy Implications of Changing Energy Paradigms. Global Policy, 3, 198–210. 10.1111/j.1758-5899.2011.00145.x
- Goldthau, A. (2014). Rethinking the governance of energy infrastructure: Scale, decentralization and polycentrism. Energy Research & Social Science, 1, 134–140. 10.1016/j.erss.2014.02.009
- Haarstad, H., Kjærås, K., Røe, P. G., & Tveiten, K. (2023). Diversifying the compact city: A renewed agenda for geographical research. Dialogues in Human Geography, 13(1), 5–24. 10.1177/20438206221102949
- Hammer, S. (2020). Sosialdemokrati versus nyliberalisme—Norsk styringskunst og samfunnsforming 1814–2020 (1st edn). SolumBokvennen.
- Hardin, G. (1968).
The Tragedy of the Commons . Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248. American Association for the Advancement of Science Stable.https://www.jstor.org/stable/1724745 - Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2009). Commonwealth. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 10.2307/j.ctvjsf48h
- Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780199283262.001.0001
- Harvey, D. (2013). Rebel Cities. From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution. Verso Books.
- Hay, C., & Lister, M. (2022).
Introduction . In The State. Theories and Issues (2nd Edition). Bloomsbury Academic. - Helfrich, S. (2012).
Common Goods Don’t Simply Exist—They Are Created . In The Wealth of the Commons: A World Beyond Market and State. Levellers Press. - Hess, C. (2008). Mapping the New Commons (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 1356835). 10.2139/ssrn.1356835
- Hoops, B. (2024). Two Tales of the Energy Commons Through the Lens of Complexity. Global Jurist. 10.1515/gj-2024-0010
- Inderberg, T. H. (2011). Institutional constraints to adaptive capacity: adaptability to climate change in the Norwegian electricity sector. Local Environment, 16(4), 303–317. 10.1080/13549839.2011.569538
- Inderberg, T. H. J. (2020). Centrally Decentralising? Analysing Key Policies and Pathways in Norway’s. Electricity Transitions. Politics and Governance, 8(3), 173–184. 10.17645/pag.v8i3.2874
- Inderberg, T. H. J., Rognstad, H., Saglie, I.-L., & Gulbrandsen, L. H. (2019). Who influences windpower licensing decisions in Norway? Formal requirements and informal practices. Energy Research & Social Science, 52, 181–191. 10.1016/j.erss.2019.02.004.
- Innset, O. (2020). Markedsvendingen: Nyliberalismens historie i Norge. Fagbokforlaget.
- Jenkins, K., McCauley, D., Heffron, R., Stephan, H., & Rehner, R. (2016). Energy justice: A conceptual review. Energy Research & Social Science, 11, 174–182. 10.1016/j.erss.2015.10.004
- Jessop, B. (2016). The state: Past, present, future. Polity Press. 10.1002/wilm.10487
- Kaandorp, C., Pessoa, I. T. M., Pesch, U., van de Giesen, N., & Abraham, E. (2024). ‘Commoning practices’ for energy justice? Perspectives on the heat transition in the city of Amsterdam. Energy Research & Social Science, 108,
103369 . 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103369 - Laerhoven, F. van, Schoon, M., & Villamayor-Tomas, S. (2020). Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Ostrom’s Governing the Commons: Traditions and Trends in the Study of the Commons, Revisited. International Journal of the Commons, 14(1), Article
1 . 10.5334/ijc.1030 - Løding, T. H. (2017). Arvesølvets verdi – den historiske transformasjonen av vannkraftforvaltningens. legitimering. Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning, 58(4), 367–388. 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2017-04-01
- Løding, T. H. (2020). The financialization of local governments—The case of financial rationality in the management of Norwegian hydroelectric utilities. Socio-Economic Review, 18(3), 725–743. 10.1093/ser/mwy026
- Marsdal, M. E., & Rambøl, A. H. (2022). Det store strømsjokket: Om hva som gikk galt og hva vi kan gjøre med det. Forlaget Manifest.
- McDermott Hughes, D. (2021). Who Owns the Wind?: Climate Crisis and the Hope of Renewable Energy. Verso.
- Meld. St. 28 (2019–2020). Vindkraft på land Endringer i konsesjonsbehandlingen. Olje- og energidepartementet.
- Melville, E., Christie, I., Burningham, K., Way, C., & Hampshire, P. (2017). The electric commons: A qualitative study of community accountability. Energy Policy, 106, 12–21. 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.035
- Midttun, A. (1996). Electricity liberalization policies in Norway and Sweden: Political trade offs under cognitive limitations. Energy Policy, 24(1), 53–65. 10.1016/0301-4215(95)00131-X
- Midttun, A., Handeland, J., & Wenstøp, S. (2003).
Chapter 5 – Organising National Interests in the Upstream Gas/Petroleum Industry: The Norwegian Model and its Transformation . In M. J. Arentsen & W. K. Rolf (Eds.), Elsevier Global Energy Policy and Economics Series, National Reforms in European Gas (pp. 65–102). Elsevier Science.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080436876500079 - Moss, T., Becker, S., & Naumann, M. (2015). Whose energy transition is it, anyway? Organisation and ownership of the Energiewende in villages, cities and regions. Local Environment, 20(12), 1547–1563. 10.1080/13549839.2014.915799
- Norwegian Ministry of Finance. (2023). Prop. 2 LS (2023–2024): Resource rent tax on onshore wind power. Government of Norway.
https://www.regjeringen.no/en/documents/prop.-2-ls-20232024/id2998793/ - NRK. (2022, Sept. 29). Agder Energi slår seg saman med Glitre Energi – blir ny kraftgigant.
https://www.nrk.no/sorlandet/agder-energi-slar-seg-saman-med-glitre-energi-_-blir-ny-kraftgigant-1.16110543 - NOU 2019: 16 Skattlegging av vannkraft. (2019). [Offical Norwegian Report, green paper]. Ministry of Finance.
https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nou-2019-16/id2670343/ - NOU 2004: 26 Hjemfall. (2004). [Offical Norwegian Report, green paper]. Olje- og energidepartementet.
- NOU 2023: 3. (2023). NOU 2023: 3 Mer av alt – raskere. Olje- og energidepartementet.
https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/nou-2023-3/id2961311/ - Ordeñana, E. A., Beascoechea, I. Z., & Calvo-Sotomayoor, I. (2024). Governing European Energy Commons: Rules and Local Conditions in Spain.
https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1405-1435202400010000 - Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511807763
- Ostrom, E., Burger, J., Field, C. B., Norgaard, R. B., & Policansky, D. (1999). Revisiting the Commons: Local Lessons, Global Challenges. Science, 284(5412), 278–282. 10.1126/science.284.5412.278
- Ot.prp nr 43. (1989–90). Om lov om produksjon, omforming, overføring, omsetning, og fordeling av energi m.m. Energiloven.
https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Stortingsforhandlinger/Lesevisning/?p=1989-90&paid=4&wid=a&psid=DIVL749&pgid=a_0569 - Rinde, H. (2001).
Elektrisitetsforsyningens organisasjon . In L. Thue & H. Rinde (Eds.), Samarbeidets kraft. Elforsyningens og bransjeorganisering 1901–2001 (pp. 148–193). Energi Forlag AS. - Saglie, I.-L., Inderberg, T. H., & Rognstad, H. (2020). What shapes municipalities’ perceptions of fairness in windpower developments? Local Environment, 25(2), 147–161. 10.1080/13549839.2020.1712342
- Selle, P., Strømsnes, K., Svedberg, L., Ibsen, B., & Henriksen, L. S. (2019).
The Scandinavian Organizational Landscape: Extensive and Different . In L. S. Henriksen, K. Strømsnes, & L. Svedberg (Eds.), Civic Engagement in Scandinavia. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. 10.1007/978-3-319-98717-0_2 - Schmidt, V. A. (2022).
Institutionalism . In C. Hay, M. Lister, & D. Marsh (Eds.), The State. Theories and Issues (2nd Edition). Bloomsbury Academic. - Shiva, V. (2006). Earth Democrazy. Justice, Sustainibility and Peace. Zed Books. 10.5040/9781350219755
- Skjold, D. O. (2015). Organisering og samarbeid i norsk elforsyning ca. 1900–1985. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet.
- Skjold, D. O., & Thue, L. (2007). Statens nett: Systemutvikling i norsk elforsyning 1890–2007. Universitetsforlaget.
- Slagstad, R. (2001). De nasjonale strateger (2nd edn). Pax Forlag.
- Standal, K., Leiren, M. D., Alonso, I., Azevedo, I., Kudrenickis, I., Maleki-Dizaji, P., Laes, E., Di Nucci, M. R., & Krug, M. (2023). Can renewable energy communities enable a just energy transition? Exploring alignment between stakeholder motivations and needs and EU policy in Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Spain. Energy Research & Social Science, 106,
103326 . 10.1016/j.erss.2023.103326 - Standal, K., Talevi, M., & Westskog, H. (2020). Engaging men and women in energy production in Norway and the United Kingdom: The significance of social practices and gender relations. Energy Research & Social Science, 60,
101338 . 10.1016/j.erss.2019.101338 - Støre, J. G. (2022, September 28). Statsministerens innledning på pressekonferanse om fordeling av overskudd fra naturressurser. Regjeringen.no.
https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/statsministerens-innledning-pa-pressekonferanse-om-fordeling-av-overskudd-fra-naturressurser/id2929195/ - Taylor, K. A. (2019). Governing the Wind Energy Commons: Renewable Energy and Community Development (Rural Studies). West Virginia University Press.
- The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). (2025). Eierskap til kraftverk.
https://www.nve.no/energi/analyser-og-statistikk/eierskap-til-kraftverk/ - Thompson, G. F. (2003).
Hierarchies, Markets, and Networks: A Preliminary Comparison . In Between Hierarchies and Markets: The Logic and Limits of Network Forms of Organization (Online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Jan. 2010). 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198775270.003.0002 - Thue, L. (1996). Strøm og styring: Norsk kraftliberalisme i historisk perspektiv. Norbok. Ad notam Gyldendal.
https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010033020018 - Varo, A., Hamou, D., Méndez de Andés, A., Bagué, E., & Aparicio Wilhelmi, M. (2023). Commoning urban infrastructures: Lessons from energy, water and housing commons in Barcelona. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1–20. 10.1080/07352166.2023.2190025
- Vasstrøm, M., & Lysgård, H. K. (2024). Energy justifications – Legitimizing Norwegian wind power. development in critical moments. Energy Research & Social Science, 110,
103442 . 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103442 - Villamayor-Tomas, S., & García-López, G. A. (2021). Commons Movements: Old and New Trends in Rural and Urban Contexts. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 46(1), 511–543. 10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-102307
- Volont, L., & Smets, P. (2022). The Politics and Aesthetics of the Urban Commons: Navigating the Gaze of the City, the State, the Market. Social Inclusion, 10(1), 84–90. 10.17645/si.v10i1.5392
- Wade, R., & Ellis, G. (2022). Reclaiming the Windy Commons: Landownership, Wind Rights, and the Assetization of Renewable Resources. Energies, 15(10), Article
10 . 10.3390/en15103744 - Weible, C. M., Olofsson, K. L., & Heikkila, T. (2023). Advocacy coalitions, beliefs, and learning: An analysis of stability, change, and reinforcement. Policy Studies Journal, 51(1), 209–229. 10.1111/psj.12458
- Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (5th edn). Sage.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1674 | Journal eISSN: 1875-0281
Language: English
Page range: 531 - 547
Submitted on: Oct 29, 2025
Accepted on: Sep 7, 2026
Published on: Oct 1, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2026 Vegard Solhjem Knutsen, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.