Online event on the occasion of COP26 – Just energy transition: Including citizens and communities in wind power projects
An online event on the occasion of COP26 in Glasgow
Hosted in partnership by WWEA and Falck Renewables
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10 November 2021, 12:00-14:00 h CET
The transformation of the energy system from centralised, fossil energy sources towards renewable energy goes hand in hand with a more distributed energy generation – wind, sun and the other renewables are offered by nature everywhere on the globe.
Accordingly, renewable energy will be installed in a much more distributed way and will directly affect citizens and communities all over the world. It will be of crucial importance that these citizens and communities have a positive attitude against the concrete wind farms, solar panels etc in their neighbourhood.
The event focusses in particular on wind power and aims to explore how to maximise the social support for wind energy – by sharing information, by involving citizens in decision-making processes and by distributing benefits amongst local communities. As a consequence of such inclusive approaches, citizens and communities will become partners, actors and drivers of the concrete wind project and eventually of the energy transformation.
Experts from the wind energy sector will present best practice cases and propose guiding principles for community and citizens involvement, both for onshore as well as for offshore wind.
Speakers:
- Welcome by Hon. Peter Rae AO, WWEA President
- Stefan Gsänger, WWEA Secretary General: WWEA is an international association with members in more than 100 countries. The association works for a global renewable energy supply with wind energy as a cornerstone and has a special focus on community involvement as a mean to maximise the social momentum for wind power.
- Toni Volpe, CEO Falck Renewables: The co-host Falck Renewables has developed approaches which include sharing benefits with local communities and is applying them in its projects in different countries.
- Dr. Rabia Ferroukhi, Director at IRENA: IRENA’s focus of this year’s COP lies on just energy transition. IRENA will present its approaches to foster such broad approach, including the work of IRENA’s Coalition for Action community energy working group.
- Dirk Vansintjan, President Rescoop: Rescoop is the European umbrella of renewable energy cooperatives and focusses in particular on local ownership of wind projects, improving in particular the EU frameworks in favour of more citizens focussed ownership models.
- Prof. Dr. Patrick Devine-Wright is a researcher at Exeter University and a member of the IEA task 27 on social acceptance of wind power. He has done extensive research on different aspects of acceptance and social support for renewable energy.
- Francisco Merino, Ministry of Energy of Chile: The government of Chile has recently decided to support community ownership models in the country.