I am a political and economic geographer studying the transformation of the global energy industry. Much of my research focuses on the development of wind energy, from its origins in Northern Europe and the western United States to its expansion across the world over recent decades. I am particularly interested in the geography of industrial restructuring: where industries grow and decline, how production and employment move between regions, and how workers and trade unions respond to organizational changes across manufacturing, construction, and wind farm operations. My wider research examines the global political economy of natural gas, the role of the state in energy system transformation, and political conflicts over the future of the energy system, particularly in my home country, the United States.

I am currently a tenure-track researcher in the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), where I previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher. Before joining DTU, I completed my PhD in geography at Clark University’s Graduate School of Geography, including extended research stays at the University of Hamburg, the University of Bremen, and the City University of New York (CUNY). Prior to that, I studied geography, economics, and economic history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Areas of
specialization:

  • political economy of energy system transformation

  • geographies of capitalist industrialization

  • labour process theory and labour regime research

  • methodological topics in the critique of political economy
    (theory of value, accumulation, and crisis; dialectical method)

Areas of
interest:

  • history of energy and the extractive industries

  • history of labour unions and workers’ parties

  • history of economic thought

  • history of geographical thought

  • critical theories of urbanization

Current research
projects:

My empirical research is currently focused on the following topics and problems:

  • First, I am examining the changing spatial division of labor in the offshore wind energy industry, with particular attention to the dynamics of uneven geographical development in coastal regions in Europe.

  • Second, I am investigating the development and transformation of global labour regimes in the construction and installation of offshore wind farms, particularly in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea regions.

  • Third, I am analyzing the development of the spatial division of labour in the renewable energy industry in South Africa. This research is financed by the DANIDA Fellowship Centre (DFC) as part of the larger research project “Overcoming acceleration challenges in the South African energy transition (ACCELERATE).”

Please feel free to reach out to me by writing an email to wiwe [at] dtu [dot] dk

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