I am a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Exeter, working at the intersection of geography, psychology and social science. I have a longstanding interest in using quantitative, qualitative, and creative methods to engage diverse publics with environmental issues: from underground energy and climate change, to freshwater fish, sea-level rise, and coastal wellbeing.
Plenary 4 Thursday 3 July 15.30-17.30: Understanding energy transitions to accelerate decarbonisation
Involving publics with Underground Heat Storage: The PUSH-IT Project
The EU Horizon project PUSH-IT (Piloting Underground Storage of Heat In geoThermal reservoirs) is centred around six pilot sites in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Czech Republic. PUSH-IT aims to address the seasonal imbalance between heat demand and supply via high-temperature underground thermal energy storage.
Engaging with communities is key to ensuring energy technologies are fair, legitimate and acceptable. In PUSH-IT, we’re exploring public views through national and local questionnaires, and focus groups. We’re also co-designing tools and guidance with technical partners to support better public engagement practices. Here we discuss our approach and present preliminary results of the questionnaires.