CREATE:ENERGY

How can populations in former coal-mining heartlands benefit from the coal exit and the energy transition? This question is at the centre of the CREATE:ENERGY research project, which aims to harness the potential for community energy in former coal-mining regions in eastern and western Germany. RIFS researchers are working with numerous cooperation and practice partners on the ground. Underpinned by a creative approach to citizen science, this research will analyse energy transition and democratic aspects of ongoing structural transformation in these regions and initiate and support engagement processes.

Lignite has been mined in the German coal districts of Lusatia and Rhineland for well over a hundred years. This has led to far-reaching changes for both the environment and populations living in these regions. The two regions differ significantly in terms of the challenges posed by structural change and the conditions that these processes will create for future transformation processes. Nevertheless, it is citizens on the ground - as affected parties and change agents - that will play a decisive role in shaping outcomes in these regions. Ultimately, their participation and empowerment will determine the success or failure of this transformation.

The researchers working on this project have chosen to use a citizen science approach that not only involves citizens in the production of technical knowledge but also aims to make their visions of regional development and interests the drivers and goals of this research. The project will develop viable concepts for community energy that are tailored to local needs and enable as many people as possible from different population groups to participate.

Digital and in-person participation

CREATE:ENERGY involves communities in the research process. Citizens can actively contribute to the planning and implementation of participatory energy projects using digital and analogue platforms. The development of energy cooperative models and an innovative digital platform that provides information on energy projects are key outputs of this work.

Analogue platforms such as citizen dialogues and workshops will also be used to strengthen community dynamics in the regions. CREATE:ENERGY seeks to engage with citizens' visions for regional development and - in doing so - to avoid the pitfalls of top-down approaches to the energy transition. The overarching aim is not only to develop technical solutions for the energy transition, but also to strengthen democratic participation and public confidence in a transformation that will benefit all. This project will lay the groundwork for new energy projects in former coal regions that are initiated, designed, and brought to life by and for local citizens, ensuring that the energy transition is grounded in communities and contributes to new regional identities. In a nutshell: CREATE:ENERGY is about making Our energy transition".

RIFS provides research services to this project on a contract basis and and is not a project partner.