Powering Change: Young People Leading the Rural Energy Transition

About this episode

The episode explores renewable energy initiatives led by young people in rural Europe.

In this episode of Rural Voices, we return to the Powering Change – Empowering Rural Youth for Energy Communities project to explore what renewable energy looks like in practice across rural Europe. We hear from Sophie Bell in Ireland, a young farmer introducing renewable energy solutions on her farm, and Marina Sainz de la Maza Ortiz in Spain, who shares the realities of trying to establish a community-led energy project in her local area. Together, they discuss the opportunities, challenges...

People in this episode

Guests: Sophie Bell, Marina Sainz de la Maza Ortiz

Topics covered

• renewable energy
• rural youth
• energy transition
• community-led projects
• sustainability

Keywords

• renewable energy
• rural communities
• energy projects
• youth empowerment
• sustainability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Powering Change – Empowering Rural Youth for Energy Communities

Places: Ireland, Spain

More episodes of Rural Voices

• The voices shaping Europe’s future | Rural Youth Forward Conference 2026 · May 1, 2026 · 25 min
• From Scroll to Action: Changing the Narrative · April 13, 2026 · 27 min
• Powering Change: Getting started with Rural Energy Communities · January 27, 2026 · 34 min
• Rural Youth Europe Awards 2025 · December 22, 2025 · 34 min
• The building blocks of a rural youth organisation - Autumn Seminar 2025 · December 16, 2025 · 37 min
• Rural youth participation in policy-making · December 9, 2025 · 27 min