First Advisor

Alida Cantor

Term of Graduation

Summer 2025

Date of Publication

8-28-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geography

Department

Geography

Language

English

Subjects

energy transitions, geography, marine spatial planning, ocean policy, offshore wind, renewable energy

Physical Description

1 online resource (v, 109 pages)

Abstract

The ocean has been culturally and legally conceptualized as a commons, a space of subsistence inherited by all. Enclosure or privatization creates overlapping jurisdictions of ocean space. The ocean is also the world's most significant carbon capture, absorbing billions of tons of anthropogenic carbon dioxide since the Industrial Revolution. Now, the ocean offers an additional opportunity to decarbonize energy production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through 'new frontiers' of offshore wind technology; however, this potential is entangled within neoliberalism. Offshore wind is entering a fragmented legal landscape where the social-legal process of ocean jurisdiction remains contested. As the "new frontier" of renewable energy moves offshore, society needs strategies to create comprehensive policies that encompasses the social-ecological systems of the ocean, including renewable energy. This thesis builds on theoretical foundations of political ecology, legal geography, energy and water justice, and common property theory to ask the following research questions: What are competing ideas and narratives of ocean space in relation to Oregon offshore wind energy development? What are the legal geographic dimensions of offshore wind energy development in Oregon? How can these results be analyzed through processes of enclosure and commons? Through spatial conceptualization of the commons, enclosure, and scale, this critical human geography research analyzes qualitative data on offshore wind energy development processes and policies, as well as the social and legal dimensions of ocean waters. The goal of this thesis is to invite potential paths forward for renewable energy transitions through deeper understanding of ideas and expectations for protecting ocean, atmospheric, and energy commons as Oregon stakeholders and Tribes struggle not solely for "clean" electrons, but for democratic processes toward energy justice.

Rights

© 2025 Bryce Ashlyn Sprauer

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

Financial support was provided through Dr. Alida Cantor's National Science Foundation Award #2222152, Building Capacity for Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research on Water and Society, NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; the Ford Family Foundation graduate scholarship for Ford Scholars; and the Renewable Energy Scholarship Foundation.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44130

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