The ENSYSTRA project members and partners are looking back on a second successful ENSYSTRA Summer School, this year taking place in the first week of July in Groningen, The Netherlands. The aim of the Summer School was to engage with the societal and policy challenges of pursuing offshore energy generation and transportation on the North Sea. The summer school featured lectures, workshops, poster presentations during a mini-symposium as well as debates and discussions.
ENSYSTRA Mini-Symposium
During the Summer School the Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) played an active role during the mini symposium ‘Energy in the North Sea’ which took place on July 2. During the walking dinner, participants could walk by the posters and discuss the ENSYSTRA researches. Gertjan Lankhorst, CEO of New Energy Coalition, shared relevant insights on the history of North Sea developments and discussed the role of policy in off shore energy regulation. During the panel discussion several scenarios were addressed, for example the newest regulations of the Climate Agreement in the Netherlands.
Sustainable island Ameland
During a one-day excursion to the Dutch Sustainable island of Ameland, the first stop was at the solar park of Ameland which is a showcase of how a local inhabitant of Ameland’s passion for the environment can move (sustainable) mountains.
After that, the ESRs visited the local municipality of Ameland where several sustainable projects on Ameland over the last few years were presented. The municipality shared lessons learned on how a small island like Ameland is able to implement sustainable efforts.
Upcoming ENSYSTRA projects
This fall the ENSYSTRA ESRs will gather again during the third workshop which will be hosted by the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The focus of this workshop will be on Modelling Energy Systems, and more specifically on questions like ‘what do we learn from different types of models’ and on strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
