Solar Aporias: on Precarity and Praxis in Interdisciplinary Research on Solar Energy

Solar power is uniquely effective at mitigating the climate crisis and is becoming the cheapest form of energy globally. However, the proliferation of solar power has been uneven and inequitable. For example, large-scale solar infrastructures are awash with globalized financial capital, often developed through the gendered and racialized alienation of land and livelihoods of local marginalized populations. The imperative to mitigate the climate crisis within this consequential decade sadly supersedes equity considerations, inspiring many solar scholars to scream for solar justice. We posit that solar development is an aporia, a perplexing prefigured yet performed impasse against sustainability and equity that anticipates urgent implementation while requiring patient interrogation. In this synthesis overview, we examine the state of social science research on solar power to illuminate critically constructive scholarly inquiry, foster emancipatory praxis, and generate provocations for future research. The articles in this collection explore the aporias of solar photovoltaic development in the global North and global South from heterogeneous scholarly fields, methodological approaches, theoretical frameworks and case studies.