The energy transition requires a deep transformation of our today’s energy systems. However, such change cannot take place without a meaningful engagement of all stakeholders affected by this transformation: policy- and decision-makers, energy companies and grid operators, civil society, academia, and others.
Stakeholder engagement is at the heart of the SENTINEL project. Throughout the project, we involve different stakeholder groups to identify needs for energy models, define research questions that models should be able to answer and co-develop scenarios and storylines of potential energy futures. The figure below illustrates the stakeholder involvement within different works packages (WP).
Our starting point was to investigate the trends of using energy modelling in decision-making. We showed how energy models and energy policy interact. You can find the results of our research here. The next pages will guide you through our stakeholder engagement approach in a more detailed way, including the analysis of user needs as well as development of the case studies.
In October 2021 we will organise the EMP-E (Energy Modelling Platform Europe) conference: Re-Energising Sustainable Transitions in Europe. Energy System Modelling, Methods & Results to support the European Green Deal. This event will provide decision- and policy-makers with a unique opportunity to learn about ongoing research in the Horizon 2020 energy modelling projects. We invite different stakeholders to actively participate in the conference and share their insights on challenges of the energy transitions they face.
Get in touch with us, and become a stakeholder!
User needs
Even the most solidly designed modelling framework, accommodating the newest and most innovative programming techniques, will remain redundant if the needs and concerns of climate and energy stakeholders are not considered. This is particular important in case of people, who are using energy models and their results in professional life to make decisions about energy futures. In order to overcome this challenge, in the first phase of the project, we have conducted interviews with multiple stakeholders, asked to fill out a survey and brought them together at an expert workshop.
All these activities served to identify the needs for energy modelling by the users of SENTINEL models and users of the modelling results. With completion of these activities, the WP1 work is finished. Our results are summarised as the key user needs in the Figure below and the full report is available here.
In a second phase, under the Work Package 7, we continue involving diverse stakeholders in SENTINEL case studies. Learn more about our case studies here.