Conceptualising energy geographies in East Africa: A research agenda for exploring spatial dimensions of renewable energy transitions

Abstract

This study contributes to the understanding of the spatiality of energy transitions in the East African Community (EAC) and to cross-regional conceptual learning. It is situated at the intersection of Sustainability Transitions and Energy Geography. Building on a conceptual framework developed by energy geographers, we conduct a conceptual review and examine the production of locations, landscapes, territories, and territoriality in the EAC. The study considers spatial differentiation and embedding across scales as preconditions for and outcomes of the shift to low-carbon energy systems. It examines how expanding energy infrastructure and related land-use changes transform livelihoods and daily spaces. The review provides a conceptual framework and language for a collective research agenda on EAC energy geographies, highlighting the complementarities and divergences between concepts in the two fields. The region's heterogeneity suggests multiple pathways and overlapping territories, which remain central to energy politics, a situation not yet as visible in high-income countries.