Maddy Kroot [she/her]

I am a PhD Candidate at Clark University's Graduate School of Geography, with interests in political ecology, energy geographies, critical infrastructure studies, and science and technology studies. My research interrogates the environmental politics of energy transitions, with a focus on electricity infrastructure. I explore how "green-on-green" conflict arises when the need for decarbonization comes into friction with mandates for greater public participation in energy governance and the protection of rural landscapes targeted for new energy infrastructure. My doctoral dissertation examines community opposition to new high-voltage transmission lines in northern New England, intended to increase imports of Quebecois hydroelectricity to Massachusetts to meet MA's decarbonization targets. The project considers transmission both as a mechanism for grid decarbonization and a locus for community contestation over how decisions are made about the energy future - where, by whom, and via what logics.

I am a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar. I previously completed a Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in Geography at Dartmouth College, where I also earned a B.A. in Geography and Linguistics in 2019. When I am not staring at powerlines, I am an avid hiker and do regular trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail in NH.