AUCEL members contributed to the latest outputs of the UKRI-funded TRANSECTS project - TRANSitions In Energy For Coastal Communities Over Time And Space.
Daria Shapovalova, Mitchell Lennan, and Amy McCarron are working with academics across disciplines to advance theoretical and practical knowledge on how coastal communities experience marine energy transitions, and how policy and regulation can help with improving the benefits and justice outcomes in places like Aberdeen, Orkney, and Hull.
The research team has published an open access paper setting out a conceptual framework for understanding marine energy transitions in coastal communities of the North Sea. The paper, now available in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition, builds a framework for understanding how historical and contemporary shifts in marine energy - from historic whaling to oil & gas, to cutting‑edge offshore renewables - have shaped community identity, economy, environment, and wellbeing. It makes a compelling case for interdisciplinary, place‑based, and people‑centred research to support more inclusive and just energy transitions.
A further output, led by our Amy McCarron and Daria Shapovalova, is a case study report, utilising rapid evidence assessment methodology to examine how the concept of just transition has been and is framed, governed, and experienced in three coastal case studies: Orkney, North East Scotland, and the Humber Estuary. This comprehensive report draws evidence form over 100 sources and shows that governance of marine energy remains largely centralised and reactive, weakening local influence over planning and creating procedural injustices, especially where communities face the impacts of development without meaningful roles in shaping it.
In June 2026, AUCEL CO-Director Mitchell Lennan will be heading to Hull for the annual meeting, where researchers will share their interim findings and set the agenda for the next phase of the work. Our researchers are contributing to the critical legal and policy analysis of marine energy regulation, informed by the project’s findings, and aiming to provide and evidence base to the future improvement of marine energy governance and regulation.
