Prof Frances Fahy and Dr Ben Schmid (EnergyPROSPECTS European Project) from Geography at University of Galway, in collaboration with colleagues from Maastricht University and the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris hosted a policy-makers workshop on ‘Energy Citizenship in Ireland’ in Dublin, last month. With a group of 14 participants representing communities, local and national authorities and academia, the workshop examined the role that citizens can play in Ireland's energy transition and how the transformative impact of energy citizenship can be enhanced.

Key themes that emerged included:

·       Importance of institutional anchoring of energy citizenship in public policy and policy cohesion

·       Risk of energy citizenship and transition becoming exclusively a middle-class concept

·       Need for tailored messaging to different societal groups and avoidance of overly technical language

·       Criticism of offloading too much risks onto citizens and energy communities

·       Potential to improve procedures and costs of grid connection and remuneration for medium-scale renewable energy projects