Community energy – an investment with impact
IRENA Coalition for Action launches groundbreaking White Paper on Stimulating Investment in Community Energy
WWEA is very pleased that the IRENA Coalition for Action has launched its White Paper on Stimulating Investment in Community Energy – please find below IRENA’s announcement.
Experts from around the world have contributed to an excellent paper that identifies barriers and instruments for broadening community energy across the globe. The White Paper highlights the importance of community based investment in accelerating renewable energy deployment and its potential to distribute socioeconomic benefits of renewable energy more broadly in our societies.
Stefan Gsänger, WWEA Secretary General: “After having chaired the Community Energy Working Group for almost four years, I am very happy that the topic of community energy has now reached the global agenda and is discussed as an important part of the global energy transformation.”
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Coalition for Action has defined community energy as the “economic and operational participation and ownership by citizens or members of a defined community – be it at the village, city or regional level – in a renewable energy project, regardless of the size and scope of the project”.
Developed by the Coalition’s Community Energy Working Group, this white paper reviews measures that stimulate and sustain community energy. Although renewable energy investments by citizens and communities have gained traction in many countries, knowledge exchange on a global level has been limited. This paper fills the gap by showcasing policy measures and financing mechanisms that reflect best practices and offering recommendations to governments and financial institutions on how to accelerate community energy development and reap its benefits.
Key Takeaways for Governments & Financial Institutions
- Build awareness and develop a shared understanding of community energy.
- Adopt targets and policy designs that value citizen participation and local socio-economic development.
- Establish dedicated agencies or one-stop shops to support community energy.
- Facilitate community access to capital through targeted public finance.
- Support innovative financing mechanisms and business models for community energy projects and the most vulnerable.
- Encourage aggregation of and collaboration between community energy projects.
- Integrate community energy in energy access and local development programmes.