Pilot Study 1
The global pace of energy transition is too slow. Many governments worldwide have recently adopted fast-track approval procedures for infrastructure and resource projects, such as renewable energy facilities like wind and solar farms, and mining operations for the extraction of critical minerals required for the energy transition. They aim to streamline lengthy permitting procedures. However, it is not clear why and how they emerged, what institutional changes they introduced, and how they impact justice and the environment. Therefore, this pilot study used a comparative case study approach and selected regimes with fast-track procedures through an internet search. We analyze the following cases: The Critical Raw Materials Act (European Union); the Sectoral Authorization Framework Law (Chile); the Fast-Track Approvals Act (New Zealand); the Act on the Development of Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities (Japan); the One Canadian Economy Act (Canada); and the Solar-Express (Switzerland).
Switzerland’s first alpine solar power plant: Madrisa Solar is the first alpine solar installation connected to the grid under the Swiss “Solar-Express” fast-track programme. © Fabian Kellner
The research questions were: (1) How do social–ecological interactions and problem framing drive regime shifts towards fast-track procedures in infrastructure and resource projects for energy transition? (2) What are the key institutional changes introduced to accelerate procedures? (3) What justice issues arise in the development and adoption of fast-track regulations? (4) What are the (anticipated) impacts of fast-track procedures for justice and the environment on the project level?
Project head: Dr. Elke Kellner
Member of project team: Jana Z’Rotz
Pilot Study 2 (Website)
Fostering Collaboration for Constructive Participation: An AI‑Supported Reflection Space for a Swiss Renewable Energy Infrastructure Project
Renewable energy infrastructure projects often face strong local resistance, driven by emotional dynamics. This pilot project explores how an AI-supported reflection space can support more constructive participation in renewable energy projects.
The expansion of renewable energy infrastructure is essential for climate mitigation but frequently encounters local resistance and contested participation processes, particularly in the context of emerging fast-track permitting and planning procedures intended to accelerate the energy transition. Research increasingly shows that additional factual information alone rarely resolves such conflicts, as attitudes toward projects are shaped by emotions, perceived injustices, narratives, and imageries circulating in public and social media. Existing digital tools in public participation mainly focus on processing information and arguments within formal procedures. This pilot project explores a different approach: the use of AI-supported reflection spaces prior to formal participation processes. The study develops and tests a source-bound chatbot designed to accompany individual reflection in the context of a renewable energy infrastructure project in Switzerland. Rather than primarily providing additional information, the chatbot invites users to explore their own perceptions, emotions, and intuitive responses to the project. The aim is to create a low-threshold space in which individuals can reflect on their reactions and assumptions before entering public deliberation. The prototype is evaluated through a mixed-methods design combining pre- and post-use surveys with qualitative interviews with affected citizens and stakeholders. This design examines how such reflection spaces may influence the readiness for constructive participation in climate-related infrastructure decisions.
Project head: Dr. Elke Kellner
Member of project team: Raffaele Amplo
Alpine solar plant in Grimentz, part of Switzerland’s Solar-Express fast-track programme. © Elke Kellner
Pilot Study 3 (Website)
Trade-offs in Accelerating the Energy Transition in Switzerland
The energy transition must accelerate — but speed creates new conflicts. How can decision-making be accelerated without undermining environmental standards and public participation?
The global transition to renewable energy is progressing too slowly and in some cases even showing signs of reversal, despite the urgency of climate protection, accelerating ecosystem degradation, and growing inequality. Efforts to accelerate the transition frequently encounter resistance, as fast-track procedures can undermine just decision-making and the careful consideration of local environmental impacts, while slower processes may strengthen local participation but delay climate action. The speed of the transition is therefore closely intertwined with spatial and temporal questions of justice and environmental protection.
Despite the increasing implementation of fast-track permitting procedures — internationally as well as in Switzerland (e.g., Solarexpress, Beschleunigungserlass, Netzexpress) — systematic research is still lacking on how acceleration can be achieved without compromising local environmental protection and justice, and how participatory processes can be designed to be both efficient and fair.
This project examines different institutional fast-track approaches in Switzerland and tests a new, innovative transdisciplinary approach to participatory processes that brings together cultural and planning practices.
Project head: Dr. Elke Kellner
Members of project team: Karin Fink; Dr. Andreas Unteidig; Jana Z’Rotz
Own Publication
Kellner, Elke; Z’Rotz, Jana (2025): Fast-track procedures for infrastructure and resource projects to accelerate energy transition. DOI: .48620/91684.
Kellner, Elke (2026): Rethinking participatory processes: Hypnosystemic approaches for fast and just sustainability transformations. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18219358.