Conference Theme

This is a multi-disciplinary conference with a special focus on socio-technical aspects of energy transition that aims for an energy system that is predominantly based on renewable sources. It imagines a future where most households are prosumers, technologies of renewable sources operate at a market competitive price, most industries are flexible in their power demand, power storage and its operation are cheap and a significant part of all power production capacity is owned by citizens, while the municipal, provincial, and national governments work in harmony towards a more sustainable energy agenda.

But how did we come to this future? Which technological evolutions at the supply and demand end took place? How was the public involved in this transition? How were the preferences and support of citizens acquired? What mechanisms led to such coherence between people, companies, municipalities, provinces, regions, and nations? How were the local solutions connected to the national targets? What were the new pathways that led to the new energy regime? What was the role of interdisciplinary research? How were the local initiatives and the conventional energy incumbents cooperating with each other? These and related questions are what we will discuss during this conference.

It will be a two-day conference with excursions. The conference will take place in Groningen, in June 2023. A detailed program will follow in May 2023. Accepted and presented abstracts will be published in a conference book.

The conference will include:

1. academic presentations,
2. talks by professionals in the field,
3. panel discussions with policy makers and practitioners,
4. roundtable discussions on research agendas,
5. excursions, and
6. networking opportunities.