Phase-outs at the edge of the world: Interconnections between energy futures and place-making in the strategic outpost Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Abstract

As Longyearbyen, Svalbard, embarks on a transition away from the century-long reliance on coal as the backbone of the Arctic community, existing understandings of place are destabilised. However, as an important Norwegian outpost in an increasingly tense Arctic geopolitical landscape, the phase-out transcends local visions for Longyearbyen and its new energy system. Drawing upon a mix of semi-structured interviews, fieldwork, and desk research, this paper examines the interconnected imagined socio-spatial and sociotechnical futures through the concept of place-framing. Identifying key actors, conflicts, and place-frames, three place-frames emerged: i) the environmental, ii) the techno-economic, and iii) the social, highlighting respectively the nature, renewable technology research, development, and innovation, and the social community as potential core anchors for the future Longyearbyen after coal. The paper underlines a need to attend more closely to the multi-scalarity of such processes to better understand the what's, how's, where's, and who's of imagined futures following phase-outs.