Hot off the press! A comparative media analysis of energy storage framing in Canadian newspapers

Abstract

Energy storage (ES) is a keystone technology for advancing low-carbon energy transitions, yet energy system change continues to be influenced by socio-political acceptance of emerging innovations such as storage. An initial Canadian contribution to the social-scientific study of ES, we conduct a comparative media analysis of news coverage on storage technologies in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Applying the Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED) framework, we analyse representations of ES risks and benefits in 143 articles drawn from top-circulating Canadian newspapers between 2007–2017. We then evaluate frame and narrative trends describing ES in these provinces. In doing so, we identify: (1) a generally optimistic national perspective on ES, despite regional variance in risk and benefit framing; (2) greater attention paid to high-profile, smaller-scale ES technologies; (3) a prominence of sustainability and transition narratives around ES; and (4) a positive temporal shift in ES discourse, reflecting changing regional energy priorities and Canada’s increasing commitment to clean energy development. Our findings provide insight on interprovincial differences in social perception on ES and identify possible drivers for these variations to help inform future ES research, deployment and policy strategies in Canada and other evolving national energy markets.