Euan Morris, KE Fellow, University of Strathclyde
28 September 2022
Slide deck can be accessed here.
On the 8th and 9th of September, EnergyREV held its first in-person consortium event in over 2 years, bringing together a fantastic range of EnergyREV researchers, external collaborators, and other interested partners to discuss the insights of the programme and how these can have a significant impact on the development and roll-out of smart local energy system approaches.
The on-going energy bills crisis provided an imperative for our first panel discussion where we heard from academics within EnergyREV as well as experts from industry, on the topic of how SLES can create an energy system fit for achieving Net Zero and beyond, while also providing direct financial benefits to alleviate the cost of living for customers.
Following on from this was an exploration of the wider benefits SLES approaches bring to skilled employment and the wider economy, with a panel discussion on the skills needed for a just transition, and how local government and businesses can help achieve this while also seeing benefits themselves, again with contributions from experts from both EnergyREV and industry.
We were then able to enjoy a live ‘episdode’ of Local Zero, the EnergyREV podcast, which provided a more casual environment for guests and the audience to engage in discussion of the future of SLES - available here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0d83407c-e2df-4a26-9856-bc0384fe5ea3
The next day saw a more formal exploration of the question of how SLES approaches might continue to develop and be rolled-out into the future, with opening presentations from leading academics followed by a panel discussion with contributors from industry and local government, on visions for what an energy system with smart local energy solutions would look like, the benefits this would bring to consumers, and what barriers still exist that need to be overcome for this to be realised.
To close out the event, there was a showcase for all the tools that EnergyREV researchers have developed, covering everything from catalogues and maps of existing local energy projects and businesses, to interactive assessment tools to aid with the planning and assessment of local energy projects.