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Energy systems are undergoing significant change. Traditional centralised, fossil-based systems are giving way to increasingly low carbon, renewable and decentralised energy systems. Whilst these changes aim to reduce CO2 emissions, this has also enabled the emerging 'prosumer' phenomenon: where citizens and businesses play an active and democratic role in the generation, ownership and direction of energy transitions. In recent years this seen an explosion in community, municipal and business involvement in Bristol. In this first in a series of events, we set out to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the Bristol energy scene in a post subsidy landscape. As part of PROSEU project we will offer a series of free 'Living Lab' practical interventions/workshops to see how Bristol can continue to be a frontrunner city in the UK's energy transition. In this event we aimed to bring together a diversity of actors including local government, community energy organisations, businesses, citizens, academia and the third sector. ; PROSEU WP7 - Living Labs: Lessons Learned and recommendations for mainstreaming the participation of citizens in the Energy Union

Preface; Contents; Stephen G. Hall, Ullrich Heilemann, and Peter Pauly: Introduction; Lawrence R. Klein: US and NAFTA -- Some First Experiences and Modelling; Future prospects; References; Michael Beeby, Stephen G. Hall, and S.G. Brian Henry: Modelling the Euro-11 Economy: A Supply-Side Approach; 1. Introduction; 2. The data; 3. The model; 4. Estimation results; 5. Estimating the NAIRU in the Euro-11; 6. Simulation exercises; 7. Conclusion; Appendix: Estimation Results; References; Mika Kortelainen and David G. Mayes: Using EDGE -- A Dynamic General Equilibrium Model of the Euro Area.

For many, shifting economic and social contexts have created the conditions for a radical reappraisal of the orthodox image of the 'sustainable city'. However, in assessing such potentialities, there is insufficient knowledge about the way in which local actors construct, live out and are gripped by this signifier. This article responds to this deficit by exploring how key actors engaged in urban development actually interpret the challenges of the 'sustainable city'. In part, using a Q-methodology study in Bristol and Grenoble, we discern and construct three distinctive discourses of the sustainable city, which we name progressive reformism, public localism, and moral stewardship. Our findings challenge previous critiques of sustainable urbanism. We observe no consistent support for mainstream conceptions of sustainable urban development, but neither do we find significant support for entrepreneurial or radical green localist discourses of the sustainable city. Instead, we identify a common indifference to the tenets of ecological modernization (and, by extension, entrepreneurialism), and a shared skepticism of local self-sufficiency. We thus argue that such discourses offer uncertain foundations upon which to construct new visions of the 'sustainable city'. In our view, this is because of the transformation of the 'sustainable city' from a relatively fixed idea into a floating signifier, coupled with the practices of local practitioners as policy bricoleurs. We conclude that efforts to develop new visions of 'sustainable cities' are best served by fostering an agonistic ethos of 'pragmatic adversarialism' amongst strategic leaders and stakeholders, which foregrounds politics and the right to difference.

Gaining greater understanding about the various psychosocial, socio-cultural, and environmental factors that may influence experiences of depression among African American women (AAW) helps elucidate how this mental illness impacts the lives of this population. Sixty-three adult AAW comprised the study's convenience sample. Specifically, focus group cohorts inclusive of women from an academic institution, a primary healthcare clinic, and an urban community setting were conducted. Results indicated six (6) dominant common themes as issues that may increase risk for depression among diverse AAW. Similarities and differences about perspectives that contributed to depression were delineated among the three cohorts of AAW. These results are important for mental/behavioral health researchers, practitioners, and public health professionals that are engaged in the design and implementation of culturally centered and gender-specific prevention and intervention strategies targeted to AAW at risk for depression.

Non-Peer Reviewed ; Riparian areas function as a buffer between the upland and the aquatic systems. This area is unique in its structure and the services it provides intercepting non-point source (NPS) pollution from the upland. In some cases additional buffer width may be required or sought. Riparian buffer strips are a beneficial management practice (BMP) eligible for cost-shared funding under government programs. However, little information is available to assist landowners in appropriate location or design considerations. This project aims to create a riparian buffer design tool to be utilized on lotic (flowing water) systems in cropland settings. This tool will consist of a flow chart and accompanying key. The flow chart along with air photographs, soils maps and discussions with the landowner will help to determine where on the landscape a buffer should be located. The final product will include case studies and guiding documents for technical staff to utilize when assisting landowners with their riparian buffer strips.

Prosumers – who both consume and produce renewable energy (RES) and actively modulate their demand – are now a significant feature of energy systems. Across the EU and in the UK, policymakers have sought to drive the adoption of RES, including significant volumes of rooftop photovoltaics (PV). Although this has driven down electricity CO2 emissions it has also created new policy challenges. The intermittency of RES is creating significant volatility in wholesale markets, and decarbonization targets are making traditional fossil fuel sources of balancing/flexibility obsolete. Further, heat and transport systems will increasingly need to be decarbonised and electrified using RES. In this report, we argue that one of the best ways to address these interrelated challenges is through emerging 'prosumer business models'. We cover eight 'families' of prosumer business models and highlight a range of relevant issues that inform our policy recommendations. By striving to enable these business models, policymakers can facilitate the continued deployment of RES whilst delivering system stability, enabling heat and transport decarbonisation, empowering communities and addressing energy poverty. ; H2020 project PROSEU - Prosumers for the Energy Union: Mainstreaming active participation of citizens in the energy transition. Work package 4 (WP4) - Finance and business models (Deliverable 4.2)

This report explores the different business models being adopted to enable renewable energy generation and self-consumption in the European Union. Individuals, businesses and energy communities that install renewable energy generation and self-consume some of that generation are called 'prosumers'. Prosumers may be householders, businesses or communities whose primary business is not energy generation. The price of installing on-site renewables is falling, which means homes and businesses can increasingly afford the up-front cost of installing a system. At the same time, governments are removing the subsidies formerly paid to prosumers for feeding renewable energy into the grid. In parallel, energy systems are getting smarter, so it is becoming easier to account for smaller and smaller amounts of energy and to trade them between smaller players in the energy market; even down to household to household trades. The recent Clean Energy Package (CEP) for All Europeans enshrines the rights of European citizens to become individual and/or collective prosumers. Collective prosumers are defined in the Clean Energy Package by two new types of organisation; Renewable Energy Communities and Citizen Energy Communities who are empowered to generate, use and to sell energy collectively, between themselves. How these Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) are established in each Member State (MS) is a matter for each MS's energy policy and regulation. This report explores why these RECs and CECs are necessary, what kinds of value they might be trying to capture in the energy transition, and how they can be empowered through MS' energy policy and regulation. To do this we investigated the business models being adopted by individual and collective prosumers. ; H2020 project PROSEU - Prosumers for the Energy Union: Mainstreaming active participation of citizens in the energy transition. Deliverable 4.1

This report explores the different business models being adopted to enable renewable energy generation and self-consumption in the European Union. Individuals, businesses and energy communities that install renewable energy generation and self-consume some of that generation are called 'prosumers'. Prosumers may be householders, businesses or communities whose primary business is not energy generation. The price of installing on-site renewables is falling, which means homes and businesses can increasingly afford the up-front cost of installing a system. At the same time, governments are removing the subsidies formerly paid to prosumers for feeding renewable energy into the grid. In parallel, energy systems are getting smarter, so it is becoming easier to account for smaller and smaller amounts of energy and to trade them between smaller players in the energy market; even down to household to household trades. The recent Clean Energy Package (CEP) for All Europeans enshrines the rights of European citizens to become individual and/or collective prosumers. Collective prosumers are defined in the Clean Energy Package by two new types of organisation; Renewable Energy Communities and Citizen Energy Communities who are empowered to generate, use and to sell energy collectively, between themselves. How these Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) are established in each Member State (MS) is a matter for each MS's energy policy and regulation. This report explores why these RECs and CECs are necessary, what kinds of value they might be trying to capture in the energy transition, and how they can be empowered through MS' energy policy and regulation. To do this we investigated the business models being adopted by individual and collective prosumers. ; H2020 project PROSEU - Prosumers for the Energy Union: Mainstreaming active participation of citizens in the energy transition. Deliverable 4.1