The development of renewable energies as an essential contribution to climate protection triggers debates and even conflicts when projects become concrete. These conflicts are often characterised by the mixing of local and global, emotional and rational, legitimate and pretended arguments to such an extent that increasing uncertainty arises even among citizens and decision-makers who are open to necessary changes. This not only paralyses decision-making and planning processes, but can also lead to polarisation in society.

Particularly in the case of wind turbines, changes in the landscape and nature are perceived differently locally, and citizens, as locally connected people, are calling for more participation in the energy transition.

Many research results and experiences show that planning processes lead to better results if citizens are involved as experts for their home region at a very early stage and can also have a concrete influence on the design of projects. The main objective of the project is to work with citizens in the Ebersberg district to find out how citizens' experts can be more closely involved in the planning of the expansion of renewable energies. The overarching objective of the approach is to develop a transferable approach that qualifies and empowers citizens:

1. acting responsibly in climate protection,
2. in the expansion of renewable energies as objectively enlightened, competent and
3. to participate in landscape development as locally linked actors in regional structural developments.

In a series of workshops, "citizen experts" will be provided with in-depth information on planning processes, landscape design and the effects of wind turbines. Only the citizen experts themselves can contribute to local solidarity. Therefore, they are particularly asked to work together on an acceptable site concept for renewable energies in the Ebersberg district within the framework of the project. This will be visualised as a 3D model to enable concrete discussions.
Throughout the project, the citizens' experts will also present their progress at public events and in their local networks, such as associations or company staff, thereby raising awareness and awareness of the basis for decision-making in the energy transition.

Through this deliberate combination of civil society, local politics and science, we want to strengthen confidence in fact-based decision-making and democratic structures and work for a transparent and citizen-oriented energy transition.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with landscape architects from the Technical University of Munich, the German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics.