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Copyright (c) 2026 André Alves
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planning dilemmas, wicked problems, energy transition, renewable energy, spatial planningAbstract
The energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable technologies is advanced as a response to pressing global issues, such as climate change, biodiversity crisis, environmental pollution, and resource depletion. Despite the widely recognised benefits of the decarbonisation of energy systems, the spatial implications of large-scale renewable energy deployment may introduce significant challenges for land-use planning. This paper applies the concept of wicked problems in planning as an analytical framework for examining renewable energy development. The paper argues that land-use planning processes associated with renewable energy infrastructure exhibit several characteristics that are commonly attributed to wicked problems and thus highlight the governance complexities involved in managing land for energy transition, as well as contributing to ongoing debates pertaining to the spatial dimension of energy production within planning theory.
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