Overview
As the UK moves towards its net zero goals, the role of electricity in heating, powering vehicles, and otherwise replacing fossil fuels will be central. Rural areas are sites of electricity generation, such as wind turbines and solar farms, but face challenges in transitioning to new electric-based technologies, like heat pumps and vehicle-charging points. The challenges include retrofitting new technologies to older buildings and infrastructure provision in areas of low population density. The intersection of rural vulnerabilities with sustainability pathways may create new opportunities and challenges.
The roll-out of other forms of recent infrastructure, led by market mechanisms such as mobile telephony and fibre broadband, as well as older technologies such as mains gas, have found rural areas needing more provision. Experience to date suggests that different rural areas are already making this essential transition, but that experience is variable, and the underlying drivers are not well understood.
This project aims to garner expert opinion on the challenges posed by the electrification of rural communities with sustainably produced power using Gloucestershire as a case study.
