Page 29 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2019 publication

Winter 2019 European Energy Innovation 29
“The book was a huge success,” says
Roth. “It synthesised research in the
field and our working groups to reach
a wider audience.”
In addition, RELY held exhibitions and the book. “COST gives me more
public meetings around Europe to
share its work.
Enhanced perspectives
Contributing to the case studies
research was Tadej Bevk, a Slovenian
post-graduate researcher from a so-
called Inclusiveness Target Country
– a country with a less-developed
research infrastructure.
In RELY, he found a PhD focus and
instant network. “I had 50 mentors. I
could write to people for information
and got a focal point for framing
research on landscape perceptions,”
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
GREEN-ENERGY LANDSCAPES
he says. “I have a better international
perspective and got right into the
state of the art.”
He reciprocated with a chapter in
credibility within my own country. It
is tremendously helpful for people at
my stage of career,” Bevk confirms.
Meeting challenges
There was also an academic need
behind the Action, Professor Roth
explains. “Research on the interrelation renewable, assessing landscape
between landscape quality and
renewable energy is fragmented
throughout Europe. No one had done
a high-level screening on this.”
The size of RELY made it possible to
document and analyse a wide range
of research, Roth adds. Research on
RELY generated new
knowledge for
melding extreme positions.
View the Action
https://www.cost.eu/actions/TU1401
View the Network website
http://cost-rely.eu/
factors for reconciling renewables
with landscape quality continues in
two EU-funded projects, PEARLS and
ADAPTAS.
In addition, RELY was personally
rewarding for Roth. “This was the
first EU project of this size that I ran.
It confirmed that I could manage a
similar project again.” After the Action
started, Roth jumped straight into
leadership of a German nationally
funded project on conservation and
quality for grid expansion.
Following RELY, he thinks that people
can accept infrastructure for the
switch to low-carbon energy. “It is
possible to build renewable energy
projects if they are built in the right
way in the right places,” he says. l