As Europe and the world transition to a renewables-based energy system, public engagement can help ensure fairness when building the necessary energy infrastructure. With this in mind, the Public Engagement for Energy Infrastructure Task aims to develop guidelines for practitioners and policy-makers to improve stakeholder engagement in energy infrastructure projects. To ensure the guide meets the needs of its users, the Task has tested its structure and content in different settings.
On 28 November, the Task presented part of its work at the BEHAVE Conference in Maastricht during the Session ‘Introducing a toolkit to apply behaviour insights to energy policy’. Participants learned about drivers and barriers of public engagement and provided insights into the role of different stakeholders during the project development.
Similarly, on 5 December 2023, the task hosted a workshop with about 20 experts from industry, NGOs, policy and academia. The workshop allowed Task members to harvest feedback from practitioners and researchers on how to improve the guidelines. The workshop showed that there is a great interest in a guide that can serve not only project developers but also provide guidance to policy-makers and citizens. Different experts were interested in further supporting the guide development. If you want to become part of our community of practice, please contact us.