Stakeholder meetings with local policy makers at Bierbeek

Multiple meetings were organized at TRANSfarm for preparing and initiating the permitting procedure for building a new (larger) APV installation at KU Leuven, as part of EAGER’s policy learning. In the context of this new permit application, different stakeholder meetings were organized to discuss the goal of the project and regional opportunities.

As TRANSfarm is located within a rural village view, the setup of a new APV installation can impact the perception of people living in the neighborhood. It is known that one of the hurdles of introducing APV into society is the social acceptance of these installations. To facilitate the introduction of a larger APV site at TRANSfarm but located into the village area of Bierbeek, both local policy makers as well as neighbors were invited to be introduced to the ongoing APV projects at TRANSfarm and learn about the future plans. The main outcome of these meetings was the confirmation that the APV concept is still facing a significant ‘not in my backyard effect’. The feedback received by the participants was that the concept is innovative, very interesting and beneficial for future sustainable agriculture. However, participants tended to support the APV concept only when it was installed somewhere else, and not within their surroundings.

The learnings and insights will be taken into account when drafting a decision matrix for APV installations in the framework of the EAGER project.