The tale of a new energy adventure? The evolution of offshore wind power storylines in times of shock

Within Transitions Studies, shocks have often been highlighted as igniters of change. In this paper, a discursive approach is employed to examine how shocks influence the evolution of storylines of renewable technologies. Through a qualitative study of the coverage in four Norwegian newspapers between 2020 and 2022, the paper examines the meanings assigned to offshore amidst three shocks: the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, and the Russian war in Ukraine. Employing Hajer's concept of storylines, two dominant narratives are identified: ‘offshore wind as a green, industrial opportunity’ and ‘offshore wind as a threat’. While the shock of Covid-19 leads to an initiation of offshore wind development, it, moreover, results in an increased mobilisation of actors countering such development. Underlining the close coupling between offshore wind and the petro-sector in Norway, the paper demonstrates how current policies have made the transformative potential of shocks subject to the interests and goodwill of incumbents.