The decarbonisation of cities is critical for accomplishing the targets of both the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement. However, recent studies highlight that political incentives for such low-carbon transitions typically exclude disadvantaged areas and/or population groups. Failure to include disadvantaged areas and their inhabitants may cause a dramatic delay in urban decarbonisation and exacerbate pre-existing societal inequalities. To tackle this failure, the Just Positive Energy Planning Processes (JUST PEPP) project aims to empower disadvantaged population groups by investigating how positive energy districts can be planned for, with and by residents of disadvantaged urban areas. Specifically, the JUST PEPP project will explore solutions for energy-efficiency and energy-flexibility in existing buildings and urban transport by examining four disadvantaged districts located in Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway by interacting with residents to examine their needs. Building on insights from previous projects, the project consortium will design new citizen-centric solutions geared toward well-being and inclusiveness to be piloted in the three focus countries, and, in the future, deployed across Europe to meet EU-level goals whilst balancing environmental and social concerns. To achieve this, JUST PEPP draws on expertise from a cross-disciplinary environment, encompassing researchers, local policymakers, non-profit organisations and practitioners to address these challenges.
This research project focuses on the acceptability of wind energy and investigates the involved stakeholder’s perception of the impact of wind power deployment. Stakeholders' mental models of the impact of wind power deployment are mapped and integrated into energy system models to identify and address possible misjudgments among stakeholders on the impacts of wind energy deployment that may impede the energy transition.
The WIMBY project is dedicated to increasing the use of wind power as a renewable energy source by addressing challenges that threaten its deployment, such as restrictive regulations and negative public perception.
Innovative models are used to assess wind power development impacts and potential conflicts and synergies, while guidelines are developed to increase public engagement. The project results are then translated into practical information for stakeholders to make informed decisions and shared via open-access repositories and social media.
In addition, the project will provide a Web-GIS interactive platform to enhance the accessibility and usability of the information and allow knowledge exchange from various stakeholders. The platform enables the early engagement of local stakeholders and citizens, involving them from the beginning of the project in the planning, implementation, and operating processes of wind farm deployment.
By facilitating societal engagement and support for wind power, the project aims to contribute to the decarbonisation strategy of the EU.