1. Introduction

Energy systems often give rise to a wide array of justice issues, ranging from questions of access, via issues of resource depletion to the ongoing climate crisis [1]. While low-carbon energy technologies such as renewable energy (RE) can help address many of the justice issues, they are not free of negative side-effects and conflict: REs often require costly materials such as rare earths [2,3] which can lead to pollution from mining processes along with high prices for the final product. REs often require land which can cause big-scale land acquisition and lead to land-grabbing. The construction of RE power plants has led to the displacement of people [4] and the destruction of landscapes and ecosystems [5]. Similarly, nuclear energy remains a contested issue because of the problematic sourcing and disposal of fuel, the risk of accidents and the industry’s entanglement with military questions [6].

In this context, Sweden is a particular case. As one of the Nordic countries, its political culture focuses on consensus building. The country’s electricity production is already mostly decarbonised, due to hydro and nuclear electricity generation and bioenergy covers the lion’s share of energy needs [7]. However, a considerable expansion of wind power, especially in the North of the country, is well underway, leading to conflicts around the siting of new turbines and power lines. Nevertheless, these points highlight the challenges that even a country such as Sweden, which is blessed with ample hydro, wind and bio-energy potential, has to face when instigating a transition to a decarbonised, fossilfree energy system [8]. This makes Sweden a critical case as the “low hanging fruits” of decarbonisation in power and heat production have already been picked.