Joint project for citizen participation in renewable energy projects

24.07.2024

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The three-year CREATE:ENERGY (CE) project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment as part of the program "Kommunale Modellvorhaben zur Umsetzung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeitsziele in Strukturwandelregionen" (KoMoNa) and by the Mercator Foundation with a total of 1.6 million euros. It aims to reach rural citizens in the Rhenish and Lusatian lignite mining regions through a new citizen science approach* to their unconditional participation in renewable energy projects, in particular those involving photovoltaics.

Among other things, the aim is to create trust in the criteria for approving the construction and operation of renewable energy projects, to enable participation in design and negotiation processes and to provide insights into financial flows.

A new type of app will be developed as part of the collaboration between the various stakeholders to support future projects in Germany and will be available to all interested parties after the end of the project in April 2027.

The project is being led by the Chair of Public Law, with Focus on Environmental and Planning Law at BTU under the direction of Prof. Dr. Eike Albrecht.
The joint partner RWTH Aachen is represented by Professor Dr. Agnes Förster, holder of the Chair of Built and Lived Environment, and Prof. Dr. Stefan Böschen, holder of the Chair of Technology and Society.

Dirk Marx, Bronia Braun and Jeni Howel - the scientists of the transdisciplinary project coordination team of CREATE:ENERGY at BTU - emphasize:
"Our goal is to activate the citizenry, especially in rural areas, through citizen energy. So far, citizens have not participated well in the energy transition for various reasons and thus experience the structural change as a rather passive process in their everyday lives. For this reason, we are going into the region and its municipalities as an example and supporting community activities there, for example in the planning of renewable energy projects."

Prof. Dr. jur. Eike Albrecht, holder of the Chair of Public Law, with Focus on Environmental and Planning Law, emphasizes: "This project, which has now been approved after an extensive coordination process, is not a novelty at the Chair due to its transdisciplinary orientation, i.e. the involvement of various sciences and practice, but it is the largest project of its kind since the Chair was established."

The CREATE:ENERGY project aims to bring together science (transdisciplinary) and society (authentic) on the basis of trust (transparency) in the form of "citizen energies". Municipalities are a linchpin in this process. This is where meetings, negotiations and the concrete realization of renewable energy projects, for example, take place. How exactly and in what qualities such cooperation brings results will be examined comparatively in both the Rhineland and Lusatia regions and presented in greater depth with the help of CREATE:ENERGY.

The joint project, which was launched in May 2024, will enter its main phase in September of this year. The participants will hold a kick-off conference on September 16 and 17, 2024 in the Lusatian lignite mining region. At the end of the CREATE:ENERGY project in April 2027, the results will be presented to the public at a conference.

* Participation of interested laypersons in research projects

Expert contact
Prof. Dr. jur. Eike Albrecht
Public Law, with Focus on Environmental and Planning Law
T +49 (0) 355 69-2749
albrecht(at)b-tu.de

Dirk Marx
Public Law, with Focus on Environmental and Planning Law
T +49 (0) 355 69-3139
dirk.marx(at)b-tu.de

Press contact

[Link] Photovoltaic and wind power plants. Photo: BTU, Ralf Schuster

[Link] Welzow opencast mine. Photo: BTU, Ralf Schuster