Overlooked, misunderstood, or sidelined?

Energy systems need to evolve to manage the rapid increase in distributed and intermittent renewable energy sources and growing peak loads. Smart local energy systems (SLESs) offer a promising approach by decentralizing and digitalizing energy management. However, SLESs risk exacerbating pre-existing disparities, because socioeconomically disadvantaged groups cannot participate in SLESs and therefore miss out on the benefits. One approach to addressing this issue is for those involved in SLES projects to safeguard the value of energy justice. While current research clearly indicates that energy justice is not safeguarded in SLES projects, it is unclear why. In this study, we draw on public values theory to investigate whether involved actors (i) altogether overlook justice, (ii) misunderstand justice as something other than energy justice, or (iii) sideline energy justice. Our investigation into four Dutch SLES projects, by means of fifteen semi-structured interviews and document analysis, reveals that justice is not overlooked. Rather, due to the narrow scope of SLES projects, involved actors rarely conceive justice in ways that resemble energy justice. When energy justice is considered, then this public value is often perceived as out of scope and a concern for later. These findings contribute to energy justice literature by providing actionable insights into why energy justice might not be safeguarded in decision-making. Most notably, our study highlights the need for clearly defined energy justice goals in SLES projects to ensure that energy justice is safeguarded.