Accidental ethnographies of energy transition. A project to decarbonise Italy’s power stations as recounted by an urban planning consultant

In 2017 Italy stood out in the European context for its decarbonisation plan, having committed to cut CO2 emissions produced by large industries of almost 60% by 2030 and to completely phase out coal for energy production by 2025, while increasing the investments in renewables (MISE, MATTM, 2017). Against this background, the main Italian energy utility - once a state enterprise and now a multinational participated by the Italian Ministry of Economics and Finance - has been planning to close more than twenty thermoelectric power plants (fuelled by fossils) located in marginal areas of Italy and to substitute such installed capacity with renewable plants placed both in the country and abroad. Mostly based on previous academic consultancy work conducted during the plants’ closure process (January - October 2016; September 2017 – January 2018; April 2018), the paper proposes an ‘accidental’ ethnographic account of energy transition from the vantage point of working inside the project, while being external to the organisation promoting it. Through three scenes set in different power stations, the article shows the variety of groups that make up the energy utility, their views and lived experiences of transition, from the white collars running the decommissioning project to the few left workers of the plants to trade unionists. The paper aims to contribute to the critical academic debate on decarbonisation, energy transition and circular economy, by looking at the way these topics were framed by different groups within the company. Eventually, the paper reflects on the role of these kind of multinational energy utilities in shaping narratives and actions for transition.