IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2018 - 18

opinion

Rebekah Shirley

E

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2018.2826076
Date of publication: 31 May 2018

18

Mundane Is the
New Radical
The Resurgence of
Energy Megaprojects and
Implications for the Global South

C. Wörtz/WIKIMEDIA

nergy infrastructure
is critical to the fu-
ture of any rapidly
emerging economy.
Unprecedented rates
of growth in the global south have
quickly raised the stakes for finding
plentiful, low-cost energy technolo-
gy options to keep pace with devel-
opment needs. This demand has
been a significant factor but is not
the only one driving a global resur-
gence in the deployment of large
energy infrastructure, and in par-
ticular, the hydroelectric dam. Nev-
ertheless, the increasing number
of dam projects deployed in deve-
loping countries over the last two
decades that perform poorly regard-
ing their economy, the environment,
human rights, inequality and wealth
distribution, as well as public sup-
port, all illustrate a seeming discon-
nect between planners, stakeholders,
and our technological energy solu-
tions of choice.
The literature generally focuses
on a techno-managerial assess-
ment of large-scale energy projects,
highlighting issues of technical and
economic performance, environmen-
tal risk, and the impacts of social
displacement. Beyond economistic
and technocratic analyses of impact
and mitigation, we argue that truly
comprehensive energy project as-
sessment should consider the con-
temporary and historical global
contexts within which such devel-
opments are embedded. That is, we

Daniel Kammen

Katse Dam in Lesotho, Africa.
argue for examining the processes
that give rise to energy projects,
alongside consequences thereof.
Such an assessment shows that bal-
ancing the need for large energy
infrastructure with local and contex-
tualized solutions is a major chal-
lenge that, more than technological
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

dynamics, may be a challenge of
cultural dynamics. We posit that ad-
dressing such seemingly mundane
issues is the radical solution needed
for sustainable infrastructure devel-
opment, by exploring global drivers
of the dam resurgence and discuss-
ing implications for policy.
∕

JUNE 2018



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