Create Acceptance: Assessing and promoting societal acceptance of clean energy technologies.
The project Create Acceptance contributes to facilitating the implementation of new and emerging sustainable energy technologies by assessing optimal conditions for the implementation of these new technologies in terms of socio-economic aspects, consumer preferences and citizen needs. The objectives of this project are to increase the competitiveness of RES (Renewable Energy Sources) and RUE (Rational Use of Energy) technologies by developing a tool that can measure, promote and improve social acceptance of these technologies.
The results are a stakeholder management tool: ESTEEM which provides helpful guidance through the delicate work of interacting systematically all those who may be infliced by new projects. Prjoect mangers can take steps to look into the project design and the social context and their interaction with stakeholders. ESTEEM was formulated from former and current projects involving renewable energy technology. CreateAcceptance published introduction to the tool in the final newsletter answering questions such as What is it? Who is it for? And a quick overview of the webisite.
The CreateAcceptance approach was tested on four European case - projects, and one from South Africa,- one of them being the SMART-H2 project. The linked report gives an overview of how the management tool ESTEEM (from the CreateAcceptance project) was used within SMART-H2
A workshop was also thrown by the University of Iceland, dempartment of sustainable development in Janyary 2008. The University and INE ran a broader stakeholder workshop with the goal of setting a frame or outline a vision for new fuel types for the Icelandic market. The workshop was highly successful and the outcomes will be used to outline a future vision of an integrated alternative-fuel roadmap. Students at the University are processing the material that was collected on paper and tape recorder. The scenarioes will set a frame for various research projects in context with the SMART-H2 project where drivers, filling station operator and cooperating agents are collecting actual performance data on various new vehicles and disrtibution systems 2010. Icelandic New Energy is proud of having been on the team for the development of this tool, and will use it in future projects.
It has been very valuable to widen the scope of public discourse in Iceland, inviting interrested parties to put INE's experience of replying to critique and setting hydrogen into context with other fuel options. Students will be involded in work that can give answers to complicated problems for each type of scenarioe. The ulimate goals is to find steeping stones that can support an eventual shift of fuel in Iceland.
Here is the report from Work Package 2