Sarah Lou Hassenpflug is the Energy Systems Lead for Oxfordshire County Council. Oxfordshire is notable in that the region has hosted two out of four national smart systems demonstrator projects, Project LEO, led by SSEN, and Project ESO, led by Pivot Power. In her role, Sarah is advancing a dynamic approach to Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP) in collaboration with partners from energy networks, academia, communities, and the commercial sector. Her work focuses on creating the conditions that allow the scaling up renewable energy, zero carbon heat, energy storage, and demand reduction programs to achieve net zero, promote economic development, and create a fairer, more flexible energy system. Originally a social scientist, Sarah has also served as a business analyst and innovation projects manager, with a particular focus on EV infrastructure.