User engagement in community energy schemes: A case study at the Trent Basin in Nottingham, UK

Rodrigues, Lucelia; Gillott, Mark; Waldron, Julie; Cameron, Lewis; Tubelo, Renata; Shipman, Rob; Ebbs, Nicholas; Bradshaw-Smith, Charles

Abstract

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd ‘Community Energy’ refers to people working together to reduce and manage energy use and increase and support local energy generation. It has the potential to support the infrastructural, social and cultural changes needed to reduce the impact of climate change and increase energy security. The core part of community energy initiatives is people; therefore, successful engagement strategies are essential. SCENe (Sustainable Community Energy Networks) was a research and development project focused on community energy application in a real-world setting involving in its first phase 44 new homes built along the banks of Nottingham's River Trent (UK). The project team adopted a variety of established and innovative engagement strategies including website and social media channels, an online platform, a physical community energy hub where meetings and workshops were held and an interactive virtual energy model could be accessed, and in-home smart voice-controlled and visual technologies. The influence of the project and the effectiveness of the engagement tools to generate behaviour changes were investigated through a survey, workshops and interviews. The results suggest that engagement with SCENe increased awareness of energy issues and supported wider participation in community initiatives.

Citation

Rodrigues, L., Gillott, M., Waldron, J., Cameron, L., Tubelo, R., Shipman, R., …Bradshaw-Smith, C. (2020). User engagement in community energy schemes: A case study at the Trent Basin in Nottingham, UK. Sustainable Cities and Society, 61, Article 102187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102187

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 5, 2020
• Online Publication Date: May 30, 2020
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Apr 22, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 31, 2021
• Journal: Sustainable Cities and Society
• Print ISSN: 2210-6707
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 61
• Article Number: 102187
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102187
• Keywords: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Geography, Planning and Development; Civil and Structural Engineering; Transportation
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4325763
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670720301748?via%3Dihub