I am a geographer focused on the transformation of the global energy industry, the political economy of decarbonization, and the uneven development of global capitalism.
The main focus of my research is on the historical development of the global wind energy industry, from its origins in Northern Europe and the Western United States through its expansion into other world regions and the massive growth of the industry in China over the past two decades. I am primarily interested in understanding dynamics of geographical restructuring, the changing composition of the workforce in the wind energy industry, and the emerging strategies and tactics of trade union organization. Beyond this focus on the production process and the changing forms of trade union organization, I am also interested in understanding the role of the state in facilitating the growth of the wind energy industry through subsidy regimes, scientific research, and the development of skilled labor-power.
I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Before coming to DTU, I completed my doctorate in geography at the Clark University Graduate School of Geography (Massachusetts, USA), with research visits at the University of Hamburg, the University of Bremen, and the City University of New York (CUNY). Previously, I studied international macroeconomics, human geography, and economic history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Areas of
specialization:
Areas of
interest:
geographies of capitalist industrialization
political economy of energy system transformation
labor process theory and labor regime research
methodological topics in the critique of political economy
(theory of value, accumulation, and crisis; dialectical method)
history of energy and the extractive industries
history of labor unions and workers’ parties
history of geographical thought
history of economic thought
materialism and the philosophy of science
critical theories of urbanization
Current research
projects:
My empirical research is focused on the following topics and problems:
First, I am examining the changing spatial division of labor in the offshore wind energy industry, with attention to the dynamics of uneven geographical development in coastal regions in Europe and North America.
Second, I am analyzing the changing spatial division of labor and the development of the renewable energy industry in South Africa. This work is financed by the DANIDA Fellowship Centre (DFC) as part of the project “Overcoming acceleration challenges in the South African energy transition (ACCELERATE).”
Third, I am developing a comparative political-economic account of ‘green industrial policy’ in Germany, Denmark, South Africa, and the United States, analyzing the economic, political, and ideological forms mediating the uneven and faltering development of the renewable energy industry.
Please feel free to write me an email at wiwe [at] dtu.dk