Mikaela Vasstrøm

Mikaela Vasstrøm (b.1977) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Global Development and Planning, University of Agder. She holds a PhD from the University of Copenhagen and leads significant research projects including the Norwegian Research Council-funded WINDPLAN initiative, which analyzes social acceptance and governance challenges in onshore wind power development across Norway, Scotland, and Denmark. She co-leads work packages in the WINDREG project focusing on procedural justice and knowledge co-production for energy transitions.

Her research examines:

• Just energy transitions and energy democracy
• Governance challenges in renewable energy deployment
• Public participation in environmental conflicts
• Local/regional development implications of energy policies

She co-directs UiA's participation in the Empowered Futures research school, developing PhD-level expertise in energy policy frameworks.

Publications focus on wind energy governance, policy legitimacy, and spatial planning conflicts, with consistent themes of:

• Energy justice in policy design
• Local government capacity in energy transitions
• Participatory approaches in sustainability planning

Research group affiliations include:

• Energy and Society
• Urban and Regional Planning (URPLAN)