Helena Schmidt, researcher at Delft University of Technology and collaborator in JustWind4All project, successfully defended her doctoral thesis on the community acceptance of Airborne Wind Energy (AWE). Her work opens up a new line of understanding on how local engagement, trust-building, and dialogue can shape the pathway for deploying this emerging renewable energy technology.
Community acceptance is a key factor in the successful implementation of any energy project, and AWE is no exception. As the sector moves towards commercial deployment, understanding how communities perceive and experience new technologies becomes essential. Helena’s research provides valuable insights into how AWE stakeholders can approach engagement with openness, transparency, and shared responsibility.
“While my work on Airborne Wind Energy concludes, my mission continues. I’m excited to keep working on making the energy transition more successful and socially just,” Helena shared on the day of her defense.
Her doctoral journey was guided by supervisors Roland Schmehl, Gerdien de Vries, and Reint Jan Renes, and supported by committee members from across the fields of sustainable energy, ethics, and social psychology. This reflects how Airborne Wind Energy is a truly interdisciplinary field, where engineers, researchers, social scientists, communities, and industry must work together.
New Report: Community Engagement in AWE
As part of JustWind4All, Helena also collaborated closely with Airborne Wind Europe and our member EnerKite to co-develop a new report on community engagement for AWE, drawing on best practices, emerging insights, and real-world experience.
This publication supports developers, policymakers, and project leaders in designing meaningful engagement strategies grounded in dialogue, fairness, and place-based collaboration.
Airborne Wind Europe congratulates Helena on this milestone and thanks her for her meaningful contributions to the AWE community.
The dissertation can be downloaded from here
The entire event was captured on video. It can be watched here