Renewable energy transitions, once thought of as a singular, large-scale switch in industrial energy generating technologies from fossil fuels to renewables, have gained a broader set of requirements, including the need for justice and environmental protection. While discourse around policy and process has grown to consider these requirements, the design of new renewable energy projects and technologies remains dominantly fixed on maximizing energy production. Renewables are falling short of meeting the requirements of just energy transitions. Participatory and co-design approaches offer a way to orient designers toward justice in both process and outcomes; however, their application in renewable energy project design remains undertheorized. In this paper, we explore the effectiveness of the adoption and adaptation of a co-design approach called community-driven design in enabling meaningful participation prior to technological maturity and bringing the attention of designers to a more diverse set of energy futures focused on justice and sustainability. We do so by developing and testing the approach with community members in Sitka, Alaska, USA. We conclude that through diverse understandings of energy and the emergence of design narratives that engage with the complexity of vulnerability, accountability, and resilience, community-driven design has led designers to consider justice, sustainability, and a diverse set of possible energy futures both within and beyond Sitka. The approach also opened doors for more meaningful participation, especially prior to technological maturity. However, actualizing participation at the level of partnership or community control requires responses to the outcomes of this process from researchers, developers, and decision makers.
