For Empowered Futures alumnus, Finlay Bain Kerr, the energy transition is not simply about replacing one technology with another. It is about people, places, and the futures communities want to create for themselves. Through his PhD research at the University of Strathclyde, Finlay explored an emerging and largely overlooked area of renewable energy: mine water energy, and what its development could mean for former coal mining communities across Scotland.
Mine water energy involves repurposing flooded former coal mines as sources of heat and thermal energy. While the technology has attracted growing attention from engineers and scientists, Finlay recognised a significant gap in understanding its social and political implications, particularly in light of deindustrialisation and unrealised transitions. His research set out to imagine what a future mine water energy industry might look like in Scotland and, crucially, how communities themselves might shape that future.
“It's not something that exists at scale yet in Scotland,” he explains. “So it’s envisioning and imagining what that industry could look like across different scales of society.”
Scotland’s Former Coalfields
The study focused broadly on Scotland’s former coalfield regions, including Fife, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the Lothians. Finlay engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, from community organisations and local authorities to policymakers, industry experts, and think tanks. However, he was determined that the voices of local people would sit at the centre of the research.
That commitment led him to work closely with the village of Cardenden in Fife, not far from where he grew up. Building relationships with the community required patience and trust. Unlike established energy developments, mine water energy was not widely known among residents, creating additional challenges in discussing something that remained largely hypothetical.
Rather than presenting the technology as an imminent development, Finlay encouraged participants to reflect on broader questions of economic development, energy policy, and community involvement. Their perspectives, he argued, could help shape future national and local strategies before projects ever reached the planning stage.
Inspired by Place and Personal Experience
Finlay’s interest in the topic was both academic and personal. Growing up in Fife, surrounded by the physical and cultural legacies of coal mining, he experienced firsthand the ways industrial histories continue to shape communities today.
The overlap between energy transitions, industrial heritage and questions of justice made mine water energy a particularly compelling area of study. It offered an opportunity to examine how societies move beyond fossil fuels while still grappling with the social, economic, and cultural consequences of past industries.
“It wasn't a case of technological substitution in a straightforward sense,” he says. “It certainly opens up a unique line of questioning about the current transition.”
Contested Energy Futures
The findings emphasised two important perspectives. First, a widely held understanding of the failures of capitalist modernity and of promised futures to arrive. From deindustrialisation to the present, we see an ever-increasing loss of meaningful deliberation and alternative development models, resulting in a sense of impasse. Secondly, however, in the face of such skepticism and distrust, a willingness within communities and professionals to address interconnected social and economic challenges through meaningful partnerships.
Finlay’s research contradicted many assumptions made about former mining communities. Deindustrialised communities are often perceived as being closed to energy transition futures, and as victims of the past. In this context, academic discussions of energy justice often focus on addressing historical harms and delivering restorative justice for communities affected by industrial decline. While these concerns remain important, Finlay said he entered the research expecting communities to prioritise addressing past injustices but found that local residents were often more focused on the future than on seeking compensation for the past.
“I remember someone saying in one of the workshops I ran that we've got to move forward with the future”, Finlay recalls.
Community members acknowledged the legacies of mining and industrial decline, but many expressed a strong desire to move forward, create opportunities, and take part in shaping future developments. What mattered most was not simply what projects were delivered, but how decisions were made.
The research highlighted a clear appetite for meaningful engagement, deliberation and shared decision-making. Communities wanted genuine opportunities to participate in conversations about their future, rather than being included as a late-stage consultation exercise. According to Finlay, this lesson extends far beyond mine water energy to broader approaches to local economic development and energy policy. By failing to emphasise plurality, and providing democratic agency, there are risks that just transition policy can result in homogenisation and othering.
His findings suggest that just transitions should be understood not only as outcomes, but as processes. Fairness emerges through participation, dialogue, ownership and governance, giving communities a genuine role in determining how change unfolds.
Lessons from the PhD Journey
Like many researchers, Finlay encountered challenges throughout his doctoral journey. Recruiting participants and engaging with communities in an ethical and meaningful way required persistence, adaptability, and careful relationship-building. Not every outreach effort succeeded, and developing trust often took considerable time.
Another challenge involved navigating the theoretical framework for his research. With so many possible perspectives available, identifying the most appropriate approach was a lengthy process. Ultimately, he combined ideas from energy transition studies, political economy, and the concept of imaginaries, exploring how visions of the future are shaped by existing economic structures and power relations.
Reflecting on the experience, he emphasises the importance of confidence and flexibility. Researchers should remain open to where evidence and experience lead them, even when this means moving beyond the original project plan.
His advice to early career researchers is simple: stay open-minded.
Finlay explains that some of the best moments of his PhD came from conversations, conferences, and unexpected discussions with other researchers. “That's often where a lot of new ideas are sparked,” he says.
The Impact of Empowered Futures
Throughout his PhD, Finlay was an active member of the Empowered Futures research school, an experience he describes as invaluable.
“Being part of Empowered Futures is one of the great privileges of doing the PhD,” he says.
The programme brought together researchers from a wide range of disciplines and countries, creating opportunities to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions and learn from different perspectives on energy transitions. Field excursions to Norway, Lisbon, Orkney and other locations exposed participants to diverse energy challenges and solutions while fostering lasting professional relationships.
Finlay recalls the early excursions as particularly influential, helping him appreciate the breadth of knowledge and experiences within the cohort. Later, those connections evolved into deeper research collaborations, including a collective paper developed with fellow researchers from the programme.
Beyond academic development, Empowered Futures provided a network of colleagues and friends that continues to support his work.
“Whatever happens going forward, I've got comrades and colleagues across Europe and further afield who are doing great work,” he says.
Looking Ahead
Following the completion of his PhD, Finlay has continued his research journey as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Strathclyde. He is currently working on the JUST- Systems project, a collaborative initiative involving several UK universities. The project explores how systems thinking can contribute to more just transitions in different local contexts.
The work builds naturally on themes from his PhD, particularly the importance of incorporating multiple perspectives into decision-making. Rather than viewing justice as a fixed outcome, the project examines how ongoing dialogue, participation and shared understanding can support fairer energy transitions over time. For Finlay, the central lesson remains clear: communities must be treated as active partners in shaping the future. As Scotland and other countries continue their transition towards low-carbon energy systems, meaningful participation may prove just as important as technological innovation itself.