Theme lead

Professor Alona Armstrong

Professor in Energy and Environmental Studies

I am currently a Natural Environment Research Council Industrial Innovation Fellow and a Senior Lecturer in Energy & Environmental Sciences. I am in the Plant, Soil and Land Systems research group within Lancaster Environment Centre and a core member of Energy Lancaster, leading the Agrovoltaics and Energy Decarbonisation themes.

My research focuses on the implications of the low-carbon energy transition on the local environment, including ecosystem function, properties and service provision. I use a range of desk, field, laboratory and modelling approaches to resolve understanding, taking a positive approach – we need to decarbonise energy supplies and there will be more land taken for renewable energy infrastructure but how can we do this whilst maximising environmental co-benefits? Working collaboratively with stakeholders from across sectors is central to my work. I look to use the understanding developed to inform policy and practice, with the underpinning aim of promoting the delivery of environmental benefits, beyond that of low-carbon energy, from the energy transition. Previous to my energy research, I focused on the response of peatland carbon cycling to land management perturbations.