UPWARDS AT THE SENSE CONFERENCE (Part 1)

UPWARDS is a consortium made of leading entities in the space of renewables

Wageningen University and Research (WUR) recently held the SENSE Conference: Our Future Energy Landscape (SENSE conferentie Ons Toekomstige Energielandschap).

The event was primarily meant for (Dutch) stakeholders. The aim was to contribute to meaningful exchange at the regional level and align research with the needs of the Dutch actors regarding the topic of energy governance and development.

As WUR is considered as a source of sound policy advice and good practices it could facilitate the connection of the academic questions to those of industry actors and policy makers. The event was thus an occasion to promote the research WU is doing in the energy domain, including its involvement in the European Commission funded UPWARDS project.

*Translation: alternative landscape

 

An in-depth understanding of regional priorities & challenges

The event consisted of morning presentation sessions from WUR’s key researchers. The theme for the day was renewable energy was discussed in context of impact on landscapes. How society will deal with ever increasing renewables infrastructure in landscapes, in the future is an important question that concerns policy makers and thus industry players.

The afternoon consisted of several, parallel workshop sessions attended by policy makers, public officers & developers. Bringing together this broad audience was a key point of the event. The topics covered during these workshops were:

• Multifunctional land-use
• Preconditions for successful participation processes for the energy transition,
• Financial and social participation models
• Design dilemmas for sustainable energy along infrastructure.

In our next article we will share an interview with one of the WUR staff that participated in the event who also represents Wageningen as part of the UPWARDS consortium.

Stay tuned!

 

-Gary Grima

Posted 8/8/19