Children painting local energy landscapes: generational meaning-making of nuclear power in transition

We are in the midst of a contested and complex energy transition, aiming to shape a livable planet for coming generations. Today’s children express both hopes and worries for their future, primarily in relation to climate change but also to new technologies, like new types of nuclear power. Hitherto, we know little about how children living close to, for example, a nuclear facility makes meaning of the transition. By uniquely combining our own emerging concept of “decommissioning generations” with perspectives from nuclear cultural heritage, energy transitions and energy justice literature, we explorea space where young generations can articulate experiences of the energy transition, including nuclear power, on their own terms. We also explore the method of painting workshops for including children’s experiences in contemporary societal energy debates.

Material is collected through interviews, group discussions, and most importantly painting workshops, with 10-12-year-olds in Swedish schools close to three nuclear sites with different characteristics and relations to the surrounding vicinities. Barsebäck represents phases of dismantling, Forsmark embodies ongoing operations and promises for waste management, and Marviken represent past dashed hopes and new dreams of nuclear power. Local and national political visions of developing the sites by establishing so called SMRs or new full-scale reactors show the imaginations and prospective of a nuclear renaissance.

To include a range of voices is key to achieve an inclusive energy transition, both in local communities and in society at large. Children’s experiences could decisively enrich local processes of strengthening belonging and identity, as their perspectives are proven to be different than those of adults and elderly.