RICE Method (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort)
Project phase : Mapping and reflection
Transition Lab Step : Mapping of stakeholders, policies and definition of regional priorities
RIPEET project info session
RIPEET is a Horizon 2020 funded project whose acronym stands for Responsible research and Innovation Policy Experimentations in Energy Transition. The overarching goal of RIPEET is to support policy experimentations for energy transitions in different European regions by bringing together a broad range of stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem.
Our Regions
RIPEET Pilots Ecosystems
The RIPEET project will support Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) policy experimentations for energy transition in three European territories - in Extremadura (ES), Highlands and Islands of Scotland (UK) and Ostrobothnia (FI). Learn more about each of our pilots below.
Past Call for Mirror Ecosystems
A call for Mirror Ecosystem is open until 31 May 2022. Six applicants will be selected to participate in a peer-learning scheme that follows the pilot-mirror approach: they will be working closely as mirror ecosystems by engaging with the pilot ecosystems based in Extremadura (Spain), Highlands and Islands of Scotland (United Kingdom) and Ostrobothnia (Finland). The objective is to adopt the system of methods developed, tested and validated throughout the project in order to reinforce the regional capacity to implement a more responsible, inclusive and sustainable approach to the energy transition.
RIPEET's Regional Partners
Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia - Finland
Ostrobothnia is a region situated on the west coast of Finland with a population of approximately 176,000 inhabitants. The region consists of 14 municipalities. Ostrobothnia has both vast expanses of cultivated fields, and the archipelago of Kvarken.
Ostrobothnia has a strong tradition of entrepreneurship, holds the largest number of companies per capita on the mainland of Finland and is the most industry-dominated region in Finland. The export rate of the manufacturing industry is among the highest in Finland, and the large companies situated in the region are global actors.
The Vaasa region in Ostrobothnia is home to the biggest concentration of energy technology companies in the Nordic countries. The Vaasa energy cluster consists of 160 companies developing technological solutions for smart grids, maritime industry, renewable energy production and energy efficiency. More than 90% of the national R&D efforts in electricity and automatization are performed in Ostrobothnia, mainly in local companies. The development of hybrid solutions, battery technology and energy storage are conducted jointly with universities and local business. Vaasa Energy Business Innovation Centre (VEBIC) combines this knowledge to create solutions for efficient energy production, business and sustainable solutions for global needs. Platforms in the region include Smart Grid Laboratory, PAC laboratory (Protection, Automation, Control) and Living lab environment.
Learn more about Ostrobothnia Pilot Solutions!
In terms of production and usage of renewable energy, the second most important renewable energy source in Ostrobothnia, after bioenergy, is wind power. Due to the coastline, wind energy has an important role in power generation plans in Ostrobothnia. This gives the region a central role in renewable energy production in the future.
There are four universities and two universities of applied sciences in the region. Moreover, the innovation system in Ostrobothnia is strongly business driven, but also characterized by cooperation and a high level of connectivity. To this backdrop, the RIPEET Transition Lab in Ostrobothnia has excellent premises to become a further driver for cooperation between stakeholders in the development and implementation of accessible and integrated approaches to energy transition.
Role in RIPEET
Considering the region’s energy cluster, the green transition is a huge opportunity for companies. At the same time, it is a challenge for the whole society. The triple-helix innovation mode is working well in the region. However, approaching complex challenges concerning a broad group of actors, such as the energy transition, requires new ways of working and an involvement of new actors in the regional development work. The RIPEET transition lab process provides an avenue for implementing this kind of change process and exploring its linkages to policy development.
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Ostrobothnia Transition Lab
The Process
In Ostrobothnia, the Transition Lab process set off in December 2021.
In accordance with the RIPEET methodology, an active stakeholder group has successfully worked with outlining key goals and actions supporting the energy transition in the region.
A particular focus is on decentralized and local energy, energy communities and bottom-up participation.
Main change targets for 2030:
Taking the organisation of decentralised energy production and consumption in Ostrobothnia to a new level
RIPEET Energy Vision for Ostrobothnia 2030
Decentralized energy production and consumption based on local solutions and impactful organization models ensure a high level of self-efficiency and energy equality.
By 2030, we should achieved:
Established models and networks giving local communities and citizens easy access to participate in the energy system;
Local energy solutions connected to local resources providing efficiency and resilience.
Sub-targets for 2030:
Increasing the number of local solutions connected to local resources
Increasing the number of prosumers (consumers also producing/selling energy)
Latest Updates
In April 2022, the stakeholders group in Ostrobothnia met to discuss the needs definition. Next, the outcomes of the process so far will be validated by the Transition Lab community. After this, the open call for the energy pilot was formulated.
Highlights from the peer-learning visit in Ostrobothnia - April 2023
RIPEET peer-learning visit to Vaasa, Finland gathered stakeholders from the mirror ecosystems in Silesia, Poland and Eigersund, Norway in a 3-days programme focusing on sharing regional practices, challenges and innovative solutions on energy transition.
Watch the video to learn more about the mirror regions' representatives experience and the main takeaways from the visit!
Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of Spain located in the South-West part of the country, and formed by the two largest provinces of Spain: Cáceres and Badajoz. The region has a size of 41,635 km2 (similar to the Netherlands) and has a population of 1.065 million people (in 2019, 16 times less than the Netherlands), which represents a population density of 25.56 inhabitants/km2, making it an eminently rural region, with many population areas scattered throughout the territory.
We are a renewable energy-producing region, mainly through solar photovoltaic, solar thermoelectric and hydraulic; contributing through renewable generation 30% of the total regional generation of electricity. The remaining 70% is provided by a nuclear power plant, which capacity will be gradually replaced by renewable energies by 2030, when it is expected that all electricity production in Extremadura will be 100% renewable. In 2020, renewable energy generation accounted for 121.49% of the regional demand, which places us as a national reference in the transition process towards the goal of climate neutrality, which is hoped to be achieved in 2030, 20 years earlier than expected at European level.
In terms of R&D, our region has the capacity to develop innovative solutions in areas such as: the use of biomass, intelligent systems for energy management, recycling of photovoltaic panels, green hydrogen and energy storage, among others. These capabilities will be enhanced with the construction of the National Energy Storage Research Center (CNIAE), which will be dedicated to the development of new technologies for a better manageability of renewables, and its construction will begin in the short term. Although, as a region we have the necessary energy resources so not to depend on other territories, we still depend on external technology; so the development of certain proprietary solutions would make us more energetically independent and would open great opportunities to improve regional competitiveness.
Learn more about Extremadura Pilot Solution!
In environmental matters, we are a community rich in natural resources, with 34% of the territory under some type of environmental protection; with the largest surface area of fresh water in the country; with a large number of hours of sunshine per year (3,106); a great potential for the production of biomass and, through prospecting carried out in recent years, with certain reserves of strategic materials for the energy transition, such as lithium.
Regional energy planning for 2030 will entail a total transformation of our system and unprecedented economic activity will be generated in this field. But this revolution is being accompanied by a series of social movements that are increasingly demanding that the transition should be carried out with both the environment and society in mind.
Role in RIPEET
The RIPEET project, through the implementation of the regional Energy Transition Lab, will gather evidence on what the priorities are as a region, what kind of innovative solutions should be developed to cover those priorities, and what kind of policies should accompany the development of those solutions and their integration into the market, all in line with the main social challenges and concerns, such as:
Energy poverty (12.2% of the population of Extremadura is in this situation);
Variability of energy prices;
Development of professional skills for the new energy future;
Barriers to access to new technologies for the energy transition;
Occupation of agricultural land and destruction of biodiversity.
All this goes hand in hand with the Extremadura society as a whole, in order to make our energy transition as fair and sustainable as possible. We are all excited to be developing an approach to energy transition that is accessible, inclusive and strongly rooted in the needs of our region and we look forward to sharing our experiences with the RIPEET mirror regions.
Extremadura Transition Lab
The Energy Transition Labs (ETL) aim to set up spaces for learning, interaction and interconnection between key actors (government, civil society, industry, academia) to collaboratively produce knowledge about the current problems of the energy sector, the preferred future scenarios, and possible strategies to achieve a sustainable vision.
The ETL of Extremadura is created as a system to identify evidence on what kind of energy future we want in the region, which includes actors from Society, as a focus to be addressed through the identification of concerns and needs to be addressed in the energy transition process; Academia and Industry, as producers of innovations that can respond to these social challenges; Government, as responsible for designing and implementing policies that promote the development and market introduction of these solutions; and Environmental experts, who monitor the process to ensure that it complies with environmental protection criteria. The LTE processes address the key dimensions and issues set out in the RRI framework.
Latest updates
Extremadura Joint Vision
In the ETL of Extremadura we have managed, through the application of methodology and tools offered by the RIPEET project, to define the Joint Vision that will allow us to continue advancing towards the development of solutions that favour a fairer and more sustainable energy transition in our Region.
You can download our Joint Vision by clicking on the image!
Learn how Extremadura is boosting energy transition with the video from the RIPEET peer-learning visit!
RIPEET peer-learning visit to Badajoz, in the Outer Hebrides gathered stakeholders from the mirror ecosystems in Malaga and Lithuania in a 3-days programme focusing on sharing regional practices, challenges and innovative solutions on energy transition. Watch the video to learn more about the mirror regions' representatives experience and the main takeaways from the visit!
Learn more about the Extremadura's role and objectives within RIPEET here.
Highlands and Islands of Scotland
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Our Activities in RIPEET.
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Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides - UK
The Outer Hebrides is an archipelago of islands reaching from Lewis in the north to Vatersay in the south off the north-west coast of mainland Scotland. A buoyant tourism and textiles industry flourishes across the islands and is home to incredible natural resources hosting some of the best wind, wave and tidal energy opportunities in Europe. The 26,500 inhabitants of the Outer Hebrides are spread over 15 inhabited islands with the commercial and cultural hub of the region being Stornoway on Lewis with over 6,000 people. Gaelic language and culture are incredibly important in the Outer Hebrides with Gaelic being the first language for many.
Despite having world class energy resources, the local electricity grid is heavily constrained which significantly affects the number of new projects that can be developed in the region. However, grid constraints have helped to foster some innovative and enterprising local energy economy solutions to match local energy generation with local energy demand and such as OHLEH, the Barra and Uist Local Energy Plans and Western Isles Energy in Motion.
Highlights from the peer-learning visit to the Outer Hebrides - May 2023
RIPEET peer-learning visit to Barra and Vatersay, in the Outer Hebrides gathered stakeholders from the mirror ecosystems in the Aran Islands and La Reunion in a 3-days programme focusing on sharing regional practices, challenges and innovative solutions on energy transition.
Watch the video to learn more about the mirror regions' representatives experience and the main takeaways from the visit!
Learn more about the Outer Hebrides pilot solution!
There is a high dependency on ICE cars due to lifestyles, culture and a lack of other transport options. These factors mean that communities across the Outer Hebrides face significant barriers in transitioning to a decarbonised energy system.
Fuel poverty is another area of specific concern to the Outer Hebrides. The most recent Scottish Government figures show that 36% of all households in the Outer Hebrides are in Fuel Poverty (approximately 3000 houses). This is the highest figure in Scotland, the average being 25%. This issue is at the heart of Outer Hebrides energy strategy, as fuel poverty in the Outer Hebrides is expected to be reasonably eradicated by 2040. No more than 5% of households will be fuel poor, no more than 1% will be in extreme fuel poverty, while local energy costs will be equal to those on the mainland.
Role in RIPEET
The majority of energy developments to date have focussed on onshore wind but there are a number of small-scale hydro projects as well as many domestic scale wind, solar PV and solar thermal installations.
There is significant interest in building a green Hydrogen economy in the Outer Hebrides powered by local on and off-shore wind developments. This green hydrogen revolution will be centred around the planned Net Zero Hub at Arnish as well as decarbonising Stornoway gas grid to use hydrogen instead of carbon-based fuel. Local communities are also exploring options around hydrogen for use in ferries and larger road transport.
Outer Hebrides
Transition Lab
The Outer Hebrides RIPEET Transition Lab has a broad range of stakeholders from across the public, private, academic, third sector and environmental sectors.
We are all excited to be developing an approach to energy transition that is accessible, inclusive and strongly rooted in the needs of our region and we look forward to sharing our experiences with the RIPEET mirror regions.
The Outer Hebrides has a vibrant, active and mature community energy sector with over 23MW of community owned energy infrastructure being operational in the region.
There are also 22.2MW of renewable energy being generated from commercial windfarms or hydro schemes in the area totalling 45.5MW of green energy being generated, used and exported from the Outer Hebrides.
Learn more about RIPEET impact and results in the Outer Hebrides:
- RIPEET Outer Hebrides Pilot Project - Executive Summary
- RIPEET Outer Hbrides Pilot Project - Final Report, Novemebr 2023
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy options in housedols the Outer Hebrides - Report December 2023
- Outer Hebrides household renewables - Survey results
- Outer Hebrides household energy efficiency - Survey findings
- An exploration of home renewable energy on Scottish Islands
- Energy Efficiency in rural homes
Our Resources
D.7.5 – RIPEET Report on Communication and Dissemination
This deliverable will detail the dissemination and communication activities undertaken in the project and tools and measures of their success.
D.7.4 – RIPEET Report on peer-learning programme
This deliverable will describe the peer-learning programme implemented in RIPEET Community of Practice, between three pilot regions and six mirrors ecosystems.
D.6.3 – RIPEET Overall Impact Assessment
This deliverable will assess the impact of the RIPEET project and associated Transition Lab methodology in Ostrobothnia, the Outer Hebrides and Extremadura.
D.7.2 – RIPEET Call for Mirrors
The report presents the Call for Mirros, aiming at gathering regions interested by the results of RIPEET and by co-creation and replication opportuntiies of the RIPEET Methodology.
D.7.3 – RIPEET Replication guide
The report presents a clear methodology to create and implement a Community of Practice in different projects and initiatives. With a short description of each activity and associated generic and user-friendly method card, this report will support any external stakeholders wishing to conduct similar activities.
D.5.4 – RIPEET Policy brief 2
This policy brief explores to what extent policy co-creation is a useful method to bring local communities and policy makers closer together to develop a supportive policy environment for bottom-up sustainable energy innovations.
D.5.4 – RIPEET Position paper on monitoring RIS3 through an RRI approach
This position paper exemplifies the convergence of RRI and smart specialisation in regional energy innovation, emphasising multi-stakeholder collaboration.
D.5.2 – RIPEET Transformative innovation policy mixes
In this deliverable we focus on transformative capacities as a governance framework to steer sustainable regional energy transitions. We introduce Transition Labs as RRI-based experimental governance vehicles for regional energy innovation and to strengthen regional transformative capacities.
D.5.3 – RIPEET Policy Brief
The policy brief presents first evidence for transformative R&I policy-making for energy transition collected by the RIPEET project. It showcases some key policy barriers for an inclusive and responsible energy transition and points out some avenues for overcoming them via the RIPEET tested experimentation methodology of Transition Labs.
D.6.2 – RIPEET Experiment evaluation report
This deliverable has been drafted in the frame of RIPEET WP6 “Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment” and includes the results the periodical monitoring of the RIPEET process.
D.5.1 – Synthesis of Policy Relevant Aspects of the Transition Lab Process
This analysis synthesizes policy relevant aspects of the RIPEET Transition Lab processes in order to build up the necessary knowledge base for designing a responsible and transformative territorial innovation policy mix. The synthesis aims at creating a sound understanding of the different elements in interacting in the constitution of energy transition pathways in the framework of sociotechnical regime change.
D.4.1 – RIPEET Territorial Transition Pathways
The Territorial Transition Pathways report presents the backcasting step of the Transition Lab processes in the three RIPEET pilot territories Extremadura (ES), Highlands and Islands of Scotland / Outer Hebrides (UK), and Ostrobothnia (FI). In the backcasting, territorial stakeholders in the three pilot regions co-created transition pathways related to selected change targets connected to the energy visions developed in the previous step of the Transition Labs.
D.4.2 – Selection Report on Niche Innovation Needs
The objective of this deliverable is to present the selectionof the three pilot territories needs that were co-created in the Needs Definition workshops. This was a key step in the territories’ Transition Lab process and the launch of RIPEET Call for solutions.
D.3.2 – RIPEET Handbook
This report presents the general Transition Lab approach of the RIPEET project and provides guidelines for setting up, managing and sustaining the Transition Labs
D.3.3 – RIPEET Vision Folder
RIPEET Vision Folder presents the outcomes of the RIPEET visioning exercise as an essential part of the Transition Lab processes in the three RIPEET pilot territories Extremadura (ES), Highlands and Islands of Scotland / Outer Hebrides (UK), and Ostrobothnia (FI). In the visioning step of the Transition Lab process, territorial stakeholders engaged in a co-creation process of vision building providing a perspective on a possible future for a responsible territorial energy transition.
D.2.3 – RIPEET Analysis of drivers and barriers for innovation pilots in the energy sector
This report focuses on dynamics of regional energy transition pathways in three EU regions. Analysing transitions in Extremadura, Outer Hebrides, and Ostrobothnia, it analysis the drivers, barriers, and actor strategies shaping energy pathways. It introduces a typology of energy transition patterns — community-driven, business-driven, and policy-driven — emphasising the critical role of social innovation.
D.3.1 – RIPEET Toolbox establishment of RRI-based methodologies for experimentation
This report complies with the activities towards the establishment of RRI-based methodologies for experimentation, namely the RIPEET Toolbox.
D.2.1 – Territorial perspectives: R&I energy transition ecosystems in Ostrobothnia
This report presents a comprehensive overview of the energy ecosystem in Ostrobothnia that will serve as the basis for the following tasks and work packages in the RIPEET project.
D.2.2 – Synthesis report on ecosystems, reflection and territorial priorities
This deliverable should be used internally in the RIPEET project, mainly by the RIPEET territorial partners. It will inform also the various stakeholders that will be involved in the implementation of the Transition Labs in the 3 RIPEET territories. Moreover, it will inform other actors interested on how RRI can be valorised in territorial projects (e.g., actors interested in “territorial RRI”)
D.2.1 – Territorial perspectives: R&I energy transition ecosystems in Extremadura
This report presents a comprehensive overview of the energy ecosystem in Extremadura that will serve as the basis for the following tasks and work packages in the RIPEET project.
D.2.1 – Territorial perspectives: R&I energy transition ecosystems in Highlands and Islands of Scotland
This report presents a comprehensive overview of the energy ecosystem in Highlands and Islands of Scotland that will serve as the basis for the following tasks and work packages in the RIPEET project.
A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe - Scientific advice to strengthen the resilience of the European energy sector.
This scientific opinion by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors examines how the European Commission can contribute to the preparation for, acceleration, and facilitation of the clean energy transition in the EU. The European Green Deal aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 2050, a necessary step to limit global warming.
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