A sunny disposition



The "solar" in Solarpunk is both a description and metaphor for the movement's commitment to a utopia that is accessible to every human on earth, as well as to all of our planet's lifeforms. No single business can capture and privatize sunlight to hoard it for itself or sell it at a cost. It's one of the only universally accessible goods. Solarpunk futures envision a world of distributed clean energy, available and benefiting everyone.

"The re-distribution of power, whether it's political or electric, is at the heart of my story," Solarpunk author, Alia Gee, tells Hopes&Fears. "Getting the power aspect taken care of is the only way I believe there can be a better future for everyone. (I'm very keen on the everyone part. Not just white males or CIS or human-like life forms.)"

In that way, Solarpunk centers on outsider and marginalized groups because it must. Those with the least access to power in today's paradigm will be those we must closely listen to if the Solarpunk dream is to be made a reality. For if it is to be sustainable, it will be essential to distribute power and infrastructure throughout independent communities.

Traditionally, science fiction futures—like most fiction—have glorified the heroes; proud men who are smart and physically strong. Post-apocalyptic fiction, where anyone with any difference or difficulty is openly considered "dead weight," is largely ableist in nature. So while Solarpunk at first glance centers around technologies that help create green utopias, the most important part of the movement is dealing with the real human challenges of living together on this planet.

That is likely due to the Solarpunk belief that the technology we need for a utopia is already here; we just haven't found the political will to enact one. As Solarpunk author, Claudie Arseneault tells Hopes&Fears, this is what makes Solarpunk so powerful, it "works from existing technologies, from things we already know are possible." Arseneault believes that, "Solarpunk is a genre that says both here's what our future needs to look like and here's how we can get there. That's fantastic."

The blossoming movement is positioned in contrast to the darkness of exceedingly popular apocalyptic science fiction today, offering instead a bright future. The "punk," of course, references and builds off of the two literary genres that predate it, Steampunk and Cyberpunk. Instead of looking back in time and relying on outdated technologies like steam power, Solarpunk makes use of the best technologies available today. And, instead of imagining dystopian futures of networked crime and surveillance, Solarpunk taps into an extant community.