Tool for a just transition? Community choice aggregation and energy justice in New Hampshire and beyond

A number of energy policies are being used to facilitate the transition away from climate-changing fossil fuels. But the extent to which these policies either address or exacerbate existing inequities and other forms of injustice often remains unclear. Among these policies is community choice aggregation (CCA) through which local governments and related institutions purchase energy for residents and small businesses. CCA promises access to more renewable energy and at a lower cost than traditional electric utilities. This paper offers the first analysis of CCA's energy justice dimensions and thus its capacity to contribute to socially just transitions to renewable energy. It draws primarily from qualitative research on CCA's development in the politically diverse state of New Hampshire. We examine how CCA can advance energy justice by expanding access to affordable, renewable energy for renters and other types of residents, as well as enabling forms of participation. We also assess how CCA's reliance on local governmental capacity-which reflects unequal resources-can entrench energy injustice. Additionally, we examine how CCA in NH demonstrates the limits of neoliberal models of consumer engagement with energy markets and of some other models of energy participation, as well as the benefits of what we call "networked aggregation." Through this analysis, we show how CCA in NH holds lessons about how to pursue a just transition in the context of polarized politics-like those that shape much of the energy and climate policy in the US and elsewhere.