Sun, wind, and the rebirth of extractive economies: renewable energy investment and metanarratives of crisis in Greece

Argenti, N.; Knight, D.M.

Abstract

In the midst of economic crisis, the Greek state has taken the unprecedented step of opening many of the nation's closed business sectors to international investors. Opportunities for multinational investment have been most prolific in the arena of renewable energy, where foreign prospecting in solar and wind energy is soaring. This article discusses two renewable energy initiatives: photovoltaic parks on agricultural land in Thessaly, central mainland Greece, and a planned wind farm development on the Aegean island of Chios. Among the people of Thessaly and Chios, the renewable energy initiatives are widely seen in terms of conquest and occupation akin to the Ottoman era and the Second World War. Harnessing natural resources is perceived to be a colonial programme of economic extraction associated with the global South as much as a sustainable energy initiative, heralding a return to a time of foreign occupation. This article examines the dialectical relationship emerging between narratives of renewable energy extraction and broader, long-standing conceptions of Greek identity.

Citation

Argenti, N., & Knight, D. (2015). Sun, wind, and the rebirth of extractive economies: renewable energy investment and metanarratives of crisis in Greece. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 21(4), 781-802. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.12287

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jan 21, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 26, 2015
• Journal: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
• Print ISSN: 1359-0987
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-9655
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 781-802
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.12287
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1438456