Conference

INSPIRE-Grid Conference: State of the art approaches to stakeholder engagement in electricity infrastructure projects

Calendar 25 January 2017

Whether you call it Monsterpylons (UK), Monstertrasse (DE) or Monstermaster (NO) – the phenomenon is the same: very often and all over Europe, different stakeholder groups form and vocalise strong opposition to high-voltage power lines.

Be it concerns over negative health impacts, possible consequences for the local economy or non-transparent decision-making procedures: there are many reasons why people question ongoing grid projects. However, industry and politics agree that the modernisation of the current grid infrastructure system is indispensable for the energy transition, system security and the integration of the European internal energy market.

So what can be done to incorporate these concerns and needs of stakeholders better into planning processes? How can different groups be better represented in decision-making procedures? And how can both project developers and researchers contribute to further improvement of existing tools?

The conference was part of the EU-funded project INSPIRE-Grid.

Stefano Maran RSE and project coordinator of INSPIRE-Grid
Speaker
Richard Hampton Project officer at the European Commission
Speaker
Leonhard Späth ETH Zurich
Speaker
Patrick Devine-Wright University of Exeter
Speaker
Ursula Hillbrand Secretariat-General, European Commission
Speaker
Giulia Molinengo Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS) (on Demo Project with TenneT)
Speaker
Ivar Lyhne University of Ålborg
Speaker
Alberto Eugenio Pirni Scuola Superiore S’Anna Pisa
Speaker
Peter Gosslar Buergerinitiative für HGÜ-Erdkabel, Bad Gandersheim (“Citizens for hvdc underground cables”)
Speaker
  • Integration of formal and informal participation – moderation PIK
  • Participatory decision-making methods – moderation Poliedra
  • Outlook I: (How) can social science research interact with real-life projects to learn more about the potential of stakeholder participation? – moderation ETH Zurich
  • Outlook II: What are future areas of research interest? – moderation RSE

contact

Stephanie Bätjer

Stephanie Bätjer is leading the Renewables Grid Initiative’s communication and event activities as Programme Manager – Communication. She is also heavily involved in RGI’s policy work and all activities that look at social engagement around grids. She previously worked in the communications team of the European Climate Foundation. Stephanie has studied at the Universities of Marburg and Hamburg, Germany, and the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She holds degrees in political science and journalism.