Just Share It! Designing for Justice in Peer-to-Peer Energy-sharing

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy-sharing systems are emerging as infrastructures that let local communities participate in sustainable energy transitions. By forecasting energy production and consumption, energy community members can share energy with their peers to achieve local environmental, economic, and social benefits. Despite hopes that energy community projects will promote justice, P2P energy-sharing and related infrastructures may exacerbate injustices related to energy access, community participation, and recognition of rights. We present Just Share It!, a speculative tablet-based P2P energy-sharing system. This system questions how we might design for energy justice by presenting users with choices for P2P energy-sharing grounded in research on energy community justice. In doing this, we discuss how HCI might design for justice in energy transitions, as well as tensions that may arise.