IRENES: exchanging knowledge and experiences for Integrating RENewable energy and Ecosystem Services in territorial environmental and energy policies
August 2019 – July 2022
Low-carbon policies and the development of renewable energy sources are challenged by the complexity of their interactions with other land uses. Through a series of comparative case studies in Italy, Germany, Estonia, Romania and the UK, the IRENES project is examining trade-offs and synergies in the environmental impacts of renewable energy projects in order to improve regional development policies and programmes.
The UEA team builds on its lead of the UK Energy Research Centre’s ADVENT programme which is furthering research on the integration of natural capital into the assessment of low carbon energy pathways. In the UK case study the UEA team is working with Anglia Ruskin University to assess options for low carbon heating in rural parts of eastern England that are not connected to the gas grid. A number of pilot projects will be evaluated to assess the scope for wider adoption of such initiatives. This will provide evidence to support the Clean Growth Strategy and the UK government aspiration restated in the ‘25 Year Environment Plan’ to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation.
Principal Investigator (UEA partner): Prof Andrew Lovett