Resilience and Renewable Energy Planning in Greenland: Proposing a Biologic-Geologic Spectrum

Using a combination of thematic analysis and studio-based planning proposals in West Greenland, this paper proposes that there is more than one interpretation of resilience in renewable energy planning.

All energy transitions, from one system to another, are protracted and unpredictable, and the transition to a renewable energy system is proving no exception. Such a transition is particularly amplified in the context of Greenland – a country undergoing rapid transformation in many fields, including energy. Resilience theory offers an approach for how to plan for this energy transition, but how to translate resilience theory into planning practices remains underdeveloped.

The paper begins by outlining some of the challenges in planning a transition to renewable energy, and sketching Greenland’s energy landscape. It then discusses the key characteristics of resilience thinking, before proposing that a continuum of approaches to embedding resilience – from ‘Biologic’, responsive readings to those more ‘Geologic’ and resistant – could provide planners with multiple interpretations of resilience. The paper concludes by illustrating this spectrum with situated planning examples and reflecting on the capacity of a Biologic-Geologic spectrum to create more place specific energy planning practices.