How to Move From Unjust to Just Transitions for Renewable Energy Futures? Place‐Making and ‘Unmaking’ in the ‘Left Behind’ Coastal Town of Blyth, Northumberland, UK

ABSTRACT Coastal towns with rich legacies of industry, technological innovation, and socio‐technical infrastructures are in some cases prime locations for offshore wind energy transitions. However, some of these towns have been labelled as ‘left‐behind’ due to the decline of coal mining and other high‐carbon energy industries. This results in deep‐seated impoverishment and socio‐economic devastation for affected areas. This paper reports on research from the coastal town of Blyth, Northumberland in the North East of England. Blyth has a proud industrial heritage that has recently focused on cutting edge research and development of offshore wind technologies, and supply chains, for the UK's net zero energy transition. However, the research finds that to build a just transition co‐produced with place‐based communities requires new forms of collaboration (capacities) and place making that resonates with their values and assets. Otherwise, place‐based interventions for net zero energy futures may be alienating for long‐term residents, especially when coupled to forms of economic regeneration that may overlook or exclude marginalised voices. The multi‐method approach of this study applies an assemblage theoretical framework that draws on in‐depth interviews with community and industrial actors, ethnographic walks, go‐alongs, asset mapping, and documentary analysis to highlight ‘possibility spaces’ for justice in a coastal town known for its community solidarity. The paper provides recommendations for how Blyth, and places like it, can enable marginalised community voices to co‐produce local just transitions for the town and region, with implications for global justice.