Biomass logistics: Mythistory and sociotechnical imaginary in trans-Atlantic wood pellet assemblage

Abstract

The paper focuses on the role of mythistory and the sociotechnical imaginary in stabilizing the links of a particular biomass supply chain running from the forests of Georgia in the US Southeast to diffuse markets across the European Union. Trans-Atlantic wood pellet assemblage demonstrates how mythistories and sociotechnical imaginaries are deployed to opportunistically frame wood as nature, agriculture, and energy as part of governance strategies to coordinate and operationalize the “multiple, spontaneous spatial strategies” that the biomass industry requires. I use assemblage theory to explore how Georgia’s mythistory and the European sociotechnical imaginary form the abstract machine that conditions relationships for the functionality and maintenance of the wood pellet supply chain. I then chart the concrete assemblage of the trans-Atlantic biomass supply chain, which requires the collaboration of a broad network of state and non-state actors. The case helps to ground the current global energy transition period in material and political practices that are contingent, opportunistic, and likely also transitional, even though the sector involves deep capital and political investment throughout the supply chain.