The INSPIRE-Grid project is aimed at enhancing stakeholders’ participation in the development of future grid infrastructures and is funded by the European Community through the Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement n°608472.
The basic assumption of the project is that the difficult public acceptance of Electric Power System (EPS) infrastructures is due to several reasons:
I) the lack of trustworthiness in the relationship between Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and the stakeholders and general public;
II) the difficulty in comparing the new EPS infrastructures benefits, which are on a global scale, with the impacts, which are mostly “local”;
III) stakeholders’ perception of risks, threats and problems, often neglected or scarcely recognized and understood by TSOs;
IV) the lack of tools to facilitate stakeholders’ and public participation to decision processes;
V) the fragility or the complexity of the participatory processes, with the consequent very low effectiveness.
The project idea, therefore, includes:
1) the analysis of the needs, concerns, wants and expectations of the stakeholders and general public [read more]
2) the individuation of the existing best practices for the stakeholders engament [read more]
3) the development or adaptation of methodologies for assessing and comparing impacts and benefits [read more]
4) the development of suitable processes for effective communication and real participation of the stakeholders and general public [read more]
5) a series of case studies (taking into account geographical location, size of the infrastructure and stage of completion of the scheme), with a double aim: to give elements to the methodological activities and to allow a proper testing [read more]
6) a synthesis of the project results and a series of recommendations about the stakeholders and general public engagement the dissemination of the project results and output [read more]
The overarching goal of this project is to develop a methodology to manage the consultation in order to engage the stakeholders in the decision making process and to improve support of development of future grid infrastructures. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, the project will lead to design and to develop a European good practice guide written by experts in the field of development of grid infrastructures, environmental and social acceptance issues.