Led by White Research, WP3 lays the foundation for all stakeholder-related activities in LUMENS. It focuses on identifying, mapping, and connecting key actors across the utility-scale renewable energy ecosystem – from project developers and system operators to policymakers, investors, and communities. Through the creation of the LUMENS Stakeholder Collaborative Network, interviews, and warm-up events, WP3 ensures that diverse voices and expertise are represented from the start, helping align project actions with real-world needs and priorities.

Coordinated by White Research, WP4 builds on the engagement groundwork of WP3 to transform dialogue into action. It focuses on empowering stakeholders through training sessions, collaborative workshops, and policy dialogues that translate project findings into practical tools and recommendations. By bridging technical innovation, market insights, and policy frameworks, WP4 supports the creation of “renewable energy valleys” – regional hubs that advance large-scale RES adoption, community participation, and long-term policy alignment.

Work Package 5, “Utility-scale plants in a high-RES penetration market: Mitigating NIMG effects,” focuses on addressing the technical and operational challenges that arise when electricity systems include a high share of renewable energy. The WP will examine how large renewable energy plants can provide flexibility and ancillary services to the grid, and it will identify practical barriers they face today, such as curtailment and service limitations. The WP will also develop two digital tools: A location-assessment tool that uses a multi-criteria model combining spatial, grid, and weather data to evaluate promising sites for new renewable energy plants. A hybridization tool that can simulate, size, and assess hybrid renewable energy systems integrating generation, storage, and demand. Using these tools, the team will conduct preliminary siting and sizing exercises, explore several hybrid system use cases, and ultimately deliver a replicable set of success cases and best-practice guidelines for planning and operating utility-scale renewable installations in high-renewables energy markets.

The main objective of the work Package no 6 is to assess and improve the feasibility of utility-scale RES plants by understanding and mitigating social (NIMBY) attitudes and environmental impacts. This WP focuses on parametrizing social acceptance, analysing environmental impacts through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and incorporating these aspects with techno-economic dimensions through a holistic performance assessment tool. Within the frame of the WP6 will be conducted following tasks: - Mapping framework conditions affecting social acceptance; - Gathering of key environmental factors to consider in utility-scale RES plants; - Best practices and strategies for minimizing social and environmental barriers; - Open-source solutions for understanding the overall feasibility of RES plants.

Work Package 7 is focused on developing and analysing attractive financial and regulatory frameworks for the investment in utility scale renewable energy plants. It analyses current electricity markets in the EU and how renewables earn revenues today before developing and proposing new market frameworks that would support the uptake of renewables financially, operationally and organisationally, with the input of key stakeholders across the utility-RES ecosystem. The work package also provides two tools: the Energy Mix Advisor and the Revenue Forecasting Tool to quantify the impact of financial and regulatory frameworks and provide scenario analysis for the increase of renewables in the EU. Together, these actions help to reduce uncertainty, improve investor confidence and lower risk to enable the integration of more utility-scale RES plants and accelerate the energy transition.

Work Package 8 focuses on refining, integrating, and harmonizing the tools developed in Work Packages 5, 6, and 7 to create the final version of the LUMENS toolkit, a comprehensive open-source platform for planning, evaluating, and optimizing renewable energy systems. This WP will merge technical, environmental, social, and financial perspectives to offer a holistic assessment framework. The toolkit will allow users to plan and size renewable energy plants, analyze their impacts throughout the full lifecycle, explore hybrid configurations, and test different decarbonisation and market scenarios. Through an integrated web application with interactive maps and access to open data, stakeholders will be able to assess technical specifications, understand operational and market implications, and evaluate environmental and social outcomes. Multiple scenarios and simulations will be carried out to refine results and consolidate robust recommendations. These insights will be used to develop success cases, guide future RES portfolio design and market incentives, and support engagement with regulators, policymakers, and local communities—ultimately helping stakeholders navigate the transition toward sustainable and economically viable renewable energy systems.

WP9 and 10 envisions dissemination and communication strategy and implementation (including joint open events) and definition of a sustainability roadmap. The project will also contribute, upon invitation by CINEA, to common information and dissemination activities to increase the visibility and synergies between Horizon Europe supported actions.