Course Overview
By 2035, Denmark's energy consumption must be green, and the municipalities play a key role in realising the national climate goals. However, citizen resistance to renewable energy (RE) is a real and growing challenge for the green transition and also creates challenges for municipalities, which have difficulty living up to their climate goals. Several municipalities have had to stop plans for energy plants, and attempts to create a framework for dialogue often run into unclear political premises and a lack of tools to support a good process.
This five-week course provides municipal planners with insight into and tools for dealing with the involvement of citizens in renewable energy planning. The course mixes theoretical lectures with interactive practical experience and a final project. Through the presentation of theoretical perspectives and practical examples of conflicts and solutions, as well as working with their own case, the participants will gain expertise in key areas related to political frameworks for citizen involvement, different participation methods, compensation and benefit schemes and procedures for environmental impact assessments. Key learning points include insight into and application of theories and concepts such as energy justice, place identity and energy communities, as well as concrete methods for stakeholder analyses, co-creation and experimental citizen involvement.
The course sets the stage for the active involvement of the participants in exercises and discussions and offers a platform for mutual exchange of experience and learning between municipalities. To ensure the acquisition of both theoretical knowledge and practical skills for handling citizen participation in renewable energy planning, the participants will during the course work on a concrete citizen involvement strategy related to their own case.
Course Highlights
Here you will get an overview of the most important elements of the course and how the course can strengthen your skills in citizen involvement and planning of renewable energy.
Theoretical skills - Gaining essential theoretical expertise tailored for citizen participation in renewable energy planning
Practical application - Applying theory through practical exercises and real-world case studies
Relevance of planning - Stay up to date with best practice trends in citizen participation in renewable energy planning
Social learning - Building social learning through a specific experience development and interactive sessions
Innovation in renewable energy planning - Increasing innovative thinking and problem-solving in citizen participation
MAIN GOAL
Learning Outcomes
After completion of this course, you will gain the ability to:
- + Analyse and critically assess the interaction between renewable energy development and basic local response patterns in light of key theories of local resistance and acceptance of renewable energy – including key concepts such as social acceptance, trust, energy justice and place identity
- + Apply and critically analyse relevant concepts and theories and use them to reflect on challenges and opportunities related to economic, ecological, social, legal and political dimensions of renewable energy development
- + Analyse and assess primary stakeholders in a typical renewable energy project and discuss the implications for possible interests and derived consequences for local anchoring
- + Criticize and assess important political framework conditions for local involvement in renewable energy development and analyze advantages and disadvantages for participation and local support
- + Analyse and critically reflect on the most important steps in a public participation process and discuss the significance for the inclusion and exclusion of local citizens
- + Assess and compare possible ways in which a local community can benefit from renewable energy installations and analyse the differences between benefit and compensation schemes
Meet Your Instructors
Senior Researcher
Expert and local community consultant in green transition and local development
Senior Researcher
Lecturer
Admissions
Entry Requirements
- + The course is a webinar and thus requires access to a computer and the opportunity to participate in discussion
- + Participants in the course are encouraged to decide on their own case regarding renewable energy planning from their respective municipalities. The case will be used for problem solving during the course. The case must contain a citizen involvement process and be characterized by a certain substance – duration, clear stakeholder groups and interests. In the absence of a case of their own, the participants will be assigned a hypothetical case that they can work with.
- + The course uses the book 'Gold in the Soil – Citizen Involvement in Energy Projects' by Astrid Haug & Laila Kildesgaard (2025, Djøf Publishers) as the basic book. In addition, additional literature is supplemented during the course. It is not a prerequisite to read the literature in order to benefit from the course.
Teaching and Assessment Methods
- + Weekly sessions with lectures, exercises, and discussions
- + Self-study with reading and problem solving
- + 5 sessions (2x45 min/ per day) spread over 5 weeks
Application Deadline: 20/10/2026.
Practical Notes
- + The course is of 5 weeks duration – every Tuesday from 20 October to Tuesday 17 November 2026 (weeks 43-47), with one module per week
- + The course is designed to be flexible, allowing participants to work on the learning material at their own pace and according to their schedule. All core content remains available throughout the course, allowing participants to revisit the material as needed.
Fees & Funding
Tuition Fees
Course Fee: 335 EUR
Visit institution page for information on fees and application deadlines.
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Course Info
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