The North Sea basin is one of the busiest maritime areas globally with a considerable number of anthropogenic pressures impacting the functioning of the marine ecosystem. Due to growing EU ambitions for the deployment of large offshore wind farm projects (OWF), as part of the 2050 renewable energy roadmap, there is a key need for a holistic understanding of OWF potential impacts on the marine ecosystem. We propose a holistic Cumulative Effect Assessment methodology, applied using a geo-spatial open-source software, to assess impacts of OWF related pressures on selected seabed habitats, fish, seabird and mammal species. We take into account pressures specific to the three OWF development phases, spanning 1999–2050, for the entire North Sea basin. Our results underline 2022 as the peak year of cumulative impacts for the approved OWFs, followed by a considerable increase in potential impacts of the planned 212GWs, by 2050. The spatio-temporal analysis of the OWF environmental impacts presents the shift between highly impacted areas over the studied timeline and distinguishes between concentrated areas of high impacts (S–E of UK) and dispersed areas of high impacts (Germany). Our results can inform decision-makers and the OWF industry in a joint effort to mitigate the environmental impacts of future large OWF developments.

Over the last decade, the accelerated transition towards cleaner means of producing energy has been clearly prioritised by the European Union through large-scale planned deployment of wind farms in the North Sea. From a spatial planning perspective, this has not been a straight-forward process, due to substantial spatial conflicts with the traditional users of the sea, especially with fisheries and protected areas. In this article, we examine the availability of offshore space for wind farm deployment, from a transnational perspective, while taking into account different options for the management of the maritime area through four scenarios. We applied a mixed-method approach, combining expert knowledge and document analysis with the spatial visualisation of existing and future maritime spatial claims. Our calculations clearly indicate a low availability of suitable locations for offshore wind in the proximity of the shore and in shallow waters, even when considering its multi-use with fisheries and protected areas. However, the areas within 100 km from shore and with a water depth above –120 m attract greater opportunities for both single use (only offshore wind farms) and multi-use (mainly with fisheries), from an integrated planning perspective. On the other hand, the decrease of energy targets combined with sectoral planning result in clear limitations to suitable areas for offshore wind farms, indicating the necessity to consider areas with a water depth below –120 m and further than 100 km from shore. Therefore, despite the increased costs of maintenance and design adaptation, the multi-use of space can be a solution for more sustainable, stakeholder-engaged and cost-effective options in the energy deployment process. This paper identifies potential pathways, as well as challenges and opportunities for future offshore space management with the aim of achieving the 2050 renewable energy targets.

The phrase “local collective action” is increasingly being used to describe how civil society engages with, and acts upon, sustainability transformations. While existing research has framed local collective action as an outcome of creating a shared agenda on a local level, there have been calls for exploring the diversity of ideas, motives, and ambitions people have when they join local energy initiatives. This article aims to identify the diverse attitudes towards local collective action envisioned by those who engage in local energy initiatives. We use Q methodology to analyze people’s perceptions of the local collective action they are engaged in and how those perceptions could manifest in different pathways for sustainability transformations. Forty-seven statements reflecting various approaches to local collective action were sorted by people engaged in various local energy initiatives in the northeast of the Netherlands. Based on the analysis, we distinguish four factors—Localism, Facilitation, Orchestration, and Radical Transformation—that express the diverse aspirations, motivations, and rationales associated with local collective action in local energy initiatives. The findings emphasize that for those engaged in local energy initiatives (LEIs), local collective action means navigating among different assumptions, values, and transformation processes, which often oscillate between guiding principles that emphasize “getting things done” and “creating a pleasant atmosphere”. We argue that these four factors can serve as a starting point for developing local collective action strategies to help local communities and authorities unpack possible tensions, confrontations, and conflicts concerning local energy initiatives. These findings point out that while local energy initiatives rely on people’s energy and enthusiasm, practitioners and governments should be cautious while embracing their ambitions and values.

Energy transition is an encompassing process which not only involves the energy system but also the landscape in which the energy system is embedded. Renewable energy is triggering new interactions with local landscapes in physical, socio-economic and institutional senses. We capture these interactions using the energy landscape concept, which expresses the interdependence of the energy system with the landscape. We aim to understand whether and how local energy initiatives facilitate this interdependency so as to see if local energy initiatives can be considered focal points in energy transition. We analyse how emerging local energy initiatives link different interests, land uses and activities within their energy practices and show how these facilitate interactions between various physical and social systems across multiple spatial scales. The paper concludes with several suggestions on how spatial planners and policy-makers can use the insights from the findings to support energy transition.

Community food initiatives are gaining momentum. Across various geographical contexts, community food initiatives are self-organising, providing communities with inspiration, knowledge and the opportunity to work towards responsible and socially acceptable transformations in food systems. In this article, we explore how self-organisation manifests itself in the daily activities and developments of community food initiatives. Through the conceptual lens of community self-organisation, we aim to provide a more detailed understanding of how community food initiatives contribute to broader and transformational shifts in food systems. Drawing on a multi-method approach, including community-based participatory research, interviews and observations, this article follows the creation and creative dissolution of the Free Café—a surplus food sharing initiative in Groningen, the Netherlands, which in the eye of the public remains unified, but from the volunteers’ perspectives split up into three different initiatives. The results suggest that community self-organisation accommodates differing motivations and experiences embedded in the everyday collective performances of community rationalities and aspirations. This article also points to the changing individual and collective perspectives, vulnerabilities and everyday politics within community food initiatives. This paper contributes to emerging debates on community self-organising within food systems and the potential of community initiatives to promote broader social realignments.