Doing things differently: Bridging community concerns and energy system modelling with a transdisciplinary approach in rural Ireland

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dc.contributor.authorMcGookin, Connor
dc.contributor.authorMac Uidhir, Tomas
dc.contributor.authorO Gallachoir, Brian
dc.contributor.authorByrne, Edmond
dc.contributor.funderTaighde Éireann - Research Ireland, 12/RC/2302/P2; 16/US-C2C/3290
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-03T16:50:09Z
dc.date.available2026-03-03T16:50:09Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThis paper reflects on the experience of co-producing energy strategies on the Dingle peninsula, a rural peripheral region in Ireland's South West. For the past three years, researchers from sociology, community development, and energy engineering have worked in partnership with Ireland's electricity distribution system operator and local non-profit organisations supporting enterprise and community development in the region. This involved coordinating the research with the transdisciplinary partnership established and widespread community consultation (including fifteen community meetings that received roughly 400 attendees) to understand the concerns and priorities of residents. The initial research focus was to incorporate stakeholder preferences into energy scenarios using a simulation modelling tool (Low Emissions Analysis Platform, LEAP). This was revised in favour of support for local development effort to prepare a strategic plan for the area across social, economic, and environmental domains. Widening the scope in this manner posed a serious methodological challenge but was necessary to respond to local needs and foster local impact. The results highlight the imperative of understanding the messy reality within which energy systems operate, and the need to align rural development with climate action policies via authentic engagement. A key contribution from this novel approach is to shine a critical light on the limitations of energy system models. This research serves to highlight the need for co-production/action research efforts that can support real-world transition processes and provide a better understanding of local contexts as an alternative to efforts that would seek to simply improve societal representations within energy system models.en
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was funded by the Science Foundation Ireland MaREI centre and ESB Networks under grant number 12/RC/2302/P2 and was also supported by the US-Ireland R, D & D Partnership Programme funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) together with the National Science Foundation under grant number 16/US-C2C/3290.
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent4
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid100130
dc.identifier.authororcidMcGookin, Connor
dc.identifier.authororcidMac Uidhir, Tomas
dc.identifier.authororcidO Gallachoir, Brian§0000-0002-6608-5997
dc.identifier.authororcidByrne, Edmond
dc.identifier.citationMcGookin, C, Mac Uidhir, T, O Gallachoir, B & Byrne, E 2023, 'Doing things differently: Bridging community concerns and energy system modelling with a transdisciplinary approach in rural Ireland', Science Talks, vol. 5, 100130, pp. 1-4. < https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569323000051 >
dc.identifier.endpage4
dc.identifier.issn2772-5693
dc.identifier.journaltitleScience Talks
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-6608-5997/work/207323826
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18596
dc.identifier.volume5
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier B.V.
dc.relation.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569323000051
dc.rights© 2023, the Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectTransdisciplinary
dc.subjectEnergy system modelling
dc.subjectCo-production
dc.subjectRural development
dc.subjectCommunity wellbeing
dc.subjectParticipatory action research
dc.subject[MaREI]
dc.subject[SEFSOffice]
dc.subject[EngineeringArchitecture]
dc.titleDoing things differently: Bridging community concerns and energy system modelling with a transdisciplinary approach in rural Irelanden
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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