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48 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 1125 (2015)
The Democratization of Energy

handle is hein.journals/vantl48 and id is 1169 raw text is: The Democratization of Energy Joseph P. Tomain* ABSTRACT The electricity industry is changing in dramatic ways. Most significantly, as demonstrated by the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan, the country is witnessing the merger of energy and environmental regulation. Historically, energy regulation was driven by the need to produce more power for economic growth. By contrast, environmental regulation attended to the pollution of the environment. Production of energy depends upon the use of natural resources, and throughout the fuel cycle from extraction and transportation to the burning and disposal of those resources, the environment is directly affected. Most dramatically, greenhouse gas emissions present climate change challenges. In order to effectively address those challenges and transition to a clean energy future, it is necessary that we rethink our energy and environmental politics. This Article argues that we are experiencing change in energy/environmental politics and as a consequence of that change, decisions are being decentralized and consumers have a greater input into their energy choices. This expansion of decision making constitutes the democratization of energy. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE POLITICS OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT...... 1127 II. MERGING ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ........... 1133 A. Production and Delivery of Clean Energy ......... 1135 B. Consumption and Control of Clean Energy ...... 1137 C. Regulation and Enforcement of Clean Energy.. 1139 D. Governance and Legal Institutions of Clean Energy ................................ 1140 III. CONCLUSION................................. 1145 Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, 1 Superstorm Sandy,2 and the typhoon that devastated Fukushima,3 the technical Dean Emeritus and the Wilbert & Helen Ziegler Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law. 1. See, e.g., Joseph P. Tomain, Katrina Consequences: What Has Government Learned?: To a Point, 52 LOY. L. REV. 1201, 1201 (2006) (describing how Hurricanes 1125

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