Regions have become a popular scale for energy studies, questioning the characteristics which inhibit or foster transition. However, these studies have overwhelmingly focused on pre-existing administratively well bounded spaces. In this paper, we investigate the role of politics of scaling in the production of energy regions. We ground our research in the borderland of the Upper Rhine Valley, where we concentrate on the aftermath of the closure of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (France). Institutional discourses quickly pointed to the Upper Rhine Valley as a coherent region to implement a postnuclear energy transition. However, these efforts defaulted and the process remained managed at the French level. When do energy regions fail? Data were collected through a systematic analysis of three local newspapers and 54 semi-directive interviews with French, German and Swiss civil servants involved in the process. Results underscore the role of discursive strategies which economized the debate, emerging conflicting narratives and lobbying efforts by local actors.