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Recent policy statements have placed growing importance on sustainable energy generation. This multidisciplinary project evaluated the role of community initiatives in the implementation and embedding of renewable energy technologies in the United Kingdom. The project sought to explain this new theme of policy, evaluate project development on the ground and reflect critically on the distinctive qualities of a community approach to diffusing sustainable energy technologies. The research involved the construction of a database of community projects, programme level interviews and six project case studies.

The research found that there has been a multiplicity of drivers for supporting community renewables and that projects take many different forms, both in terms of technology ‘hardware’ and the ‘software’ of social arrangements through which the technology is utilised. Who the community is and exactly how ‘it’ should be involved and should benefit from a community energy project is open to interpretation and challenge. Case study evidence suggests that many of the claims made for community renewables can be observed in practice but that none are guaranteed. Policy interventions need to be more coordinated and inclusive and provide a more concerted commitment to the benefits of community-based processes.

Award/Grant Outputs and Documents
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