Observing Regional Energy Transition Preferences—An Interactive Energy Transition Tool for Scenario Mapping Applied to the Case of Ingolstadt Region, Germany

ABSTRACT Rural areas are a relevant bottleneck to meeting the climate targets, whether in the transport sector due to the significantly lower density of public transport, the expansion of renewable energy production sites as well as the heat demand per household. Understanding configurations of energy futures in rural areas is important to provide information on public preferences for decision making in energy transition with regard to acceptable spatial distribution of renewable energy sites and transition in heat and mobility systems. Existing cartographic representations largely lack the ability to interactively and dynamically visualise customised energy transition scenarios—including their systemic impacts on energy targets, self‐sufficiency and demand patterns at a local scale. In this article, we discuss the application of an interactive mapping tool ( www.energiewende‐regionalisieren.de [ETT]) that encourages engagement with the complexity of energy systems and provides a framework for analysing preferences. These preferences inform the distribution of renewable energy sites, the calculation of the share of renewables in gross electricity demand under varying conditions, and the assessment of spatial energy self‐sufficiency in a regional context, based on a case study of the Ingolstadt region in Bavaria, Germany. By visualising the effects of user‐defined settings in real time, the ETT supports personal scenario exploration. Digital scenario‐mapping tools, such as the ETT, may support procedural and distributional justice through increased transparency and accounting for local specifics at a micro scale in the context of participatory approaches to energy transitions, though long‐term effects remain to be explored. However, resulting scenarios should be interpreted with care regarding acceptance, and we suggest complementary approaches for further assessment of energy transition perceptions.