Stimulating investment in community energy: Broadening the ownership of renewables

The IRENA Coalition for Action brings together leading renewable energy players from around the world with the common goal of advancing the uptake of renewable energy. The Coalition facilitates global dialogues between public and private sectors to develop actions to increase the share of renewables in the global energy mix and accelerate the global energy transition.

Community energy can play an important role in the energy transition and a post-COVID recovery by maximising the local socio-economic benefits of renewables and increasing public support for the energy transition. Building on several case studies, this white paper by the Coalition showcases policy measures and financing mechanisms that reflect best practices in community energy and offers recommendations to governments and financial institutions on how to accelerate its development.

Key recommendations:

• 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.