Pearls – Planning and Engagement Arenas for Renewable Energy Landscapes

territory is part of the consortium formed by seven universities (Seville, Huelva, Pablo de Olavide, Trento, Thessaloniki and Ben-Gurion) and ten non-academic organizations (industrial and business organizations, small and medium-sized enterprises, government agencies, and civil society organizations such as non-profit organizations) from countries in the southern Europe, involved in this project on landscapes and renewable energy funded by the European Union (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2017- Marie Sktodowska-Curie research and Innovation Staff Exchange).

The project PEARLS will strengthen the Commitment of the population with safe, clean and efficient energy. The «energy landscapes» or «renewable landscapes (RELAY by its acronym in English) are spaces where renewable energies change the relationship of the population with energy and their perception of the landscape. Despite all efforts, resistance to RELAY persists in Europe, while the reasons for a strong social acceptance in the countries of the Mediterranean and South America are still unknown. Therefore, PEARLS will focus on the countries of southern Europe. 

The main objective of PEARLS is to develop applied knowledge answering questions about how to increase public participation for the benefit of a sustainable renewable energy system through planning processes. 

Using the the exchange of personnel between the academic and non-academic world and collaborative research, the project works on the national legal bases; develops methodologies of social innovation and explore tools from the multidisciplinary approach on evaluation and planning.