Space is scarce. Therefore, in line with the Dutch government policy, the province of Gelderland wants to encourage multiple use of space. With GAZO, the province and WUR are working together to guide 6 example projects from start-up to implementation. The ambition is to develop 6 innovative multifunctional example solar fields in Gelderland, preferably one in each Regional Energy Strategy (RES) region. GAZO intends to learn (=discover), research (=know), develop (=act), evaluate (=look back) and communicate (=show) together with partners. WUR will support this knowledge trajectory with research and consultancy over the next five years. In autumn 2022, consortia can submit their project. The aim is to eventually select 6 applications that can make use of the support. An ambitious municipality, a solar project in early planning phase, participation, multiple use of space and attention to environmental quality are important selection criteria.
In this research, the aim is to discover best practices and learning points from past built (multi-functional) solar fields in the Netherlands, with a special focus on participation. Questions that will be asked are: How was participation and co-creation organised in the already existing solar fields in Gelderland? What lessons can be learned? Action research will be a large part of this research in the last 2 years of the PhD trajectory. The action research aims to draw conclusions regarding factors influencing the success of a participatory/co-creation process, that will not only be useful for the province of Gelderland, but for other provinces in the Netherlands and beyond.