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THE BACK PAGE STORY
CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITIES
A new toolkit aims to help developers of renewable energy schemes benefit from the input local people can make to their projects.
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Awel Aman Tawe Wind Farm
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Awel Aman Tawe is a community-led wind farm project in south Wales. It was
initiated by a group of local residents with experience in community development. The project’s aim is to respond to social and financial
concerns in the local area, as well as to the global environmental agenda. Pitched around local participation and decisionmaking, the project stresses the
need for awareness-raising, training and local employment.
The first phase explored the idea of a wind farm with local people. It entailed undertaking a broad-based, thorough
community consultation process, emphasising the role of local people in contributing to the project details and in
making the ultimate decision about whether the wind farm should go ahead; this phase was funded by the DTI’s
Renewable Energy Programme (reported in ‘Examining the approaches to renewables consultation – lessons from
Awel Aman Tawe community wind farm project’ ref no ETSU K/BD/00236/REP, available from the Enquiries Bureau). As part of the exercise, the effectiveness and
efficiency of the methods used were monitored and assessed. This has enabled the project to extract lessons for other developers and communities looking at
undertaking a consultation regarding a renewable energy scheme.
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Since the UK’s renewable energy renaissance began over a decade ago, the key role that local communities play in helping to determine the nature and extent of renewables take-up has become
clear. This is not, however, simply a question of communities’ role in the planning process, in terms of lending or withholding support from proposed
projects. Increasingly, it is being recognised that communities represent potential catalysts for change which can inject momentum and commitment into the wider acceptance of
renewable energy across the UK. Indeed, if renewables are to be deployed sensitively and successfully to the extent required for the UK to realise its renewable energy targets, community
involvement in the broadest sense will have a vital contribution to make.
Community Consultation
In this context, there is a need to share knowledge and understanding of all aspects of community involvement in renewables schemes. Community consultation represents one of the most important
of these aspects, with more and more project developers recognising that local people should be seen less as an obstacle to be surmounted but more as
partners whose views and knowledge can add substantially to the quality of the scheme in question.With this
in mind, a new toolkit on community consultation has been produced with support from the DTI’s Renewable Energy Programme. Written by community practitioners for those involved in the development
of renewables projects, the toolkit aims to:
- provide advice on how to consult effectively with communities
- identify the key factors to consider when planning and implementing a community consultation.
It presents principles of working with communities and an overview of different methods of consultation.
Although the methods and approaches have been used within community development initiatives for many
years, the toolkit assesses their applicability to the needs of renewables developers. Furthermore, the
toolkit discusses the issue of opposition as it specifically relates to the renewables industry, and also the
current approaches to dealing with it. In addition, it provides advice and ideas on appropriate methods for
different situations and estimates their cost-effectiveness. While the lessons were drawn from a consultation regarding a small wind farm (Awel Aman Tawe - see inset box), they apply in most cases to all forms of
renewable energy.
The Toolkit
The toolkit is divided into three sections:
Part One: Why consult communities?
This gives a background to community consultation. It discusses issues such as why consult, what
community consultation is and a background to the way communities function. Essentially, it underlines the
fact that a proposed renewables project will face less local opposition if the community has been consulted
and involved in discussions about the scheme. With careful, strategic awareness-raising and consultation,
many local fears and questions can be addressed successfully at an early stage; for the developer. Therefore, consultation represents a cost-effective use of time and resources.
Part Two: Developing a strategy for community consultation
This presents recommendations on the approach to consultation. It addresses issues such as when to
consult, who to consult, what to consult about and some of the broader issues regarding how to consult.
The section makes the case for an appropriate consultation strategy that is integrated into the technical components of the project.
Part Three: Using methods of community consultation
This presents the range of methods available to the developer. They are assessed on the basis of how
efficient and how effective they are as part of a community consultation exercise regarding a renewables
project. Although there is overlap, the methods are divided into three categories that are increasingly participative:
(i) Information dissemination
(ii) Facilitation of discussion and debate
(iii) Feeding ideas into the project.
To sum up, the toolkit represents a useful source of advice and information for any renewables developer
and addresses a topic that is sure to gather importance as the renewables industry continues to mature and
expand. The Renewable Energy Programme is considering holding a workshop to help raise awareness of the toolkit.
If such an event would be of interest to you please contact Fiona Brocklehurst,
e-mail fiona.brocklehurst@aeat.co.uk
For a copy of the toolkit (ref. no. ETSU K/BD/00236/REP/S), please contact the Enquiries Bureau
YOUR NEWS FOR NEW REVIEW
If you are involved in arenewable energy initiative, we would like to hear about it, with a view to covering the story in a future issue.
Contact the Editor
NEW REVIEW
NEW REVIEW is published quarterly for the UK renewable energy industry by ETSU on behalf of the DTI.Views expressed in the publication do
not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Government or the views of ETSU. Neither the DTI nor ETSU endorses any of the products or services
featured in NEW REVIEW.
Please address correspondence to:
Dr Barry Hague,
Editor - NEW REVIEW,
ETSU,
Harwell,
Didcot,
Oxon
OX11 0QJ.
For more information about the DTI’s Sustainable Energy Programmes, contact:
Enquiries Bureau,
ETSU,
Harwell,
Didcot,
Oxon,
OX11 0QJ
Tel: 01235 432450
Fax: 01235 433066
E-mail: NRE-enquiry@aeat.co.uk
You can also visit the Programmes Web site on new & renewable energy at www.dti.gov.uk/renewable/index.html
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