ESR 12

Motivations, Incentives and Commitments for Co-Investment (ESR12)

University College Cork 

We are seeking a qualified candidate who is interested in how community engagement in renewable energy, particularly wind energy, can be improved and operationalised through combined measures focussed on public participation in decision-making, direct investment and co-ownership in wind farm projects by the public and enhancing current practice by wind farm developers in establishing community benefits schemes.

The successful candidate will work as an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) and will complete an MPhil in Cork University Business School, Cork, Ireland. The ESR will undertake research in the framework of the project “MISTRAL: Multi-sectoral approaches to Innovative Skills Training for Renewable energy & sociAL acceptance.” MISTRAL is an interdisciplinary network which will work to understand the complex challenges in improving the acceptance of renewable energy infrastructure investment, and provide innovative solutions to break down barriers to the transition to a low carbon economy in Europe. 

The Early Stage Researcher will be funded for 24 months through the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Network (ITN) programme; an initiative by the European Commission to train creative, entrepreneurial, innovative researchers, who are able to face current and future societal challenges, and will convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for the economic and social benefit of Europe.

This position presents a unique opportunity for the successful MPhil candidate to assess best practice when planning and designing community engagement for renewable energy projects. The project will involve quantitative analysis using secondary data sources (e.g. national and international) as well as primary data collection methods.

 

 

To apply click here

Project supervision

Dr Geraldine Ryan
Senior Lecturer
Cork University Business School
University College Cork

Dr Gerard Mullally
Lecturer
Department of Sociology
University College Cork

David Connolly
CEO
Irish Wind Energy Association

Professor Patrick Devine- Wright
Professor in Human Geography
University of Exeter