Content type

Policy Memo: Minimizing Harmful Community Impacts of Renewable Energy Development

Justice

In Brief:

This memo offers policy recommendations to the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) to help equip the organization and its partners with effective measures to mitigate risks to affected communities while advancing clean energy efforts.

Proposed policy recommendations include conducting social impact assessments, implementing inclusive planning, promoting community agreements, and offering fair compensation and assistance.

By adopting these practices, ACORE can ensure sustainable and just outcomes from its renewable energy projects.

 

To: Constance Thompson, Senior Vice President, Equity and Justice, American Council on Renewable Energy

From: Sedina Sinanovic, Program Associate, Climate and Clean Energy at Heising-Simons Foundation

 

Background

Efforts to mitigate climate change and net-zero goals have driven the demand for more renewable energy projects to power the clean energy transition. While critical for a green future, this development has affected communities on the land where these projects are designed, particularly in locations rich in natural resources [1]. Specific subsets of the population, including Indigenous tribes, low-income, and rural residents, have been most impacted by threats to sacred and agricultural land, job security, and housing [2]. Addressing these harmful risks associated with renewable energy deployment is paramount to ensuring that the benefits of clean energy are equitably distributed and that the transition to a green economy does not worsen social inequalities. As a leader in the renewable energy sector with extensive policy expertise, a diverse stakeholder network, and commitments to equity and justice, ACORE is best positioned to respond to and mitigate harmful impacts associated with its projects.

 

Current Regulatory Framework


Current renewable energy deployment policies do not adequately address common community concerns and lack critical provisions protecting affected populations from exacerbated conditions caused by renewable energy projects. Socio-economic considerations are often overlooked in impact assessments, concentrating on environmental and biodiversity risks rather than threats to local populations [3]. The design and implementation of projects also rarely involves the input of local populations, and forums to voice concerns are not readily accessible [4]. Without legal safeguards, affected populations are further disenfranchised when threats to their livelihoods appear, and they have no protection or recourse. These policy and legal gaps further exacerbate an inequitable energy transition where benefits are not proportionately distributed, and vulnerable populations continue to bear the brunt of the adverse impacts [5].

Several cases of renewable energy projects have been hindered by local opposition due to poorly addressed community concerns. In Imperial County, California, indigenous tribes brought about lawsuits against developers wanting to build a wind farm on land the tribes claimed was ancestral and sacred [6]. In Hawaii, the state’s aggressive clean energy goals have resulted in the lack of consultation with communities over environmental and social concerns, namely, converting agricultural lands into solar farms [7]. Opposition from residents and indigenous tribes due to unaddressed concerns has also stopped renewable energy projects, as with the buildout of a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts [8].

When community impact is not considered in the planning process, key stakeholders such as developers can be met with legal challenges and strong opposition, residents are threatened with the loss of land, and government agencies are confronted with balancing clean energy initiatives with the protection of at-risk communities. Inclusive planning and stakeholder engagement are integral to a just transition and sustainable renewable energy projects [9]. With commitments to an equitable energy transition, ACORE is uniquely positioned to serve as a bridge builder that can help protect communities through practices that ensure a clean and sustainable future.

 

Recommendations

  1. Conduct Social Impact Assessments: In addition to environmental impact assessments, ACORE should take a proactive approach and work with key partners to evaluate the social and economic impact that renewable energy projects may have on local communities and residents early in the planning process. ACORE should integrate these considerations into all mandatory project assessments and require continuous monitoring to receive approval. 
  2. Implement Inclusive Planning Processes: ACORE should ensure that all stakeholders, including affected communities, are included and that their voices are considered in the design and implementation of projects. Early involvement is critical, and ACORE should proactively employ outreach efforts to increase engagement and create forums such as town halls or digital platforms where groups can engage in transparent dialogue. 
  3. Enter into Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs): ACORE can help negotiate CBAs between community coalitions and developers so that the benefits of renewable energy projects are equitably distributed, and residents' quality of life improves. ACORE is well positioned to serve as a mediator and should seek to integrate clear and measurable goals in CBAs that reflect local priorities. 
  4. Offer Fair Compensation and Assistance: ACORE should work with stakeholders to ensure that mechanisms are in place to compensate and comprehensively assist impacted individuals and families fairly. ACORE can play an active role in designing these mechanisms to provide community access to social and legal services and establish monitoring systems to guarantee accountability. 

 

Conclusion


Identifying and addressing the potentially harmful impacts of renewable energy projects on affected communities will ensure that the transition to a clean energy economy does not further burden vulnerable communities. By adopting the recommended policies and practices, assessing social impacts, integrating inclusive planning, promoting CBAs, and ensuring fair compensation, ACORE will ensure a just and equitable clean energy transition that protects vulnerable communities and benefits all.

 

References

  1. “Enabling a Just Transition: Protecting Human Rights in Renewable Energy Projects.” Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/enabling-just-transition-protecting-human-rights-renewable-energy-projects.
  2. Tomer, Adie, Joseph W. Kane, DJ Gribbin, Charles Frank, Junjie Ren Caren Grown, Calvin Bell Keon L. Gilbert, and John C. Austin. “Renewables, Land Use, and Local Opposition in the United States.” Brookings, March 9, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/renewables-land-use-and-local-opposition-in-the-united-states/.
  3. “Renewable Energy Impacts on Communities: Managing Investors’ Risks & Responsibilities.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/renewable-energy-impacts-on-communities-managing-investors-risks-responsibilities/.
  4. “Navigating Land Rights in the Transition to Green Energy.” United States Institute of Peace, March 16, 2023. https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/10/navigating-land-rights-transition-green-energy.
  5. “Enabling a Just Transition: Protecting Human Rights in Renewable Energy Projects.” Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. Accessed August 26, 2024. https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/enabling-just-transition-protecting-human-rights-renewable-energy-projects.
  6. Replogle, Jill. “Tribes Fight Green Energy Wind Project in Desert.” KPBS Public Media, March 27, 2012. https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2012/03/19/tribes-fight-green-energy-wind-project-desert.
  7. Dobbyn, Paula. “Maui Solar Project Stokes Concerns about Climate-Fueled Fire and Flooding Risks.” Honolulu Civil Beat, March 27, 2023. https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/03/maui-solar-project-stokes-concerns-about-climate-fueled-fire-and-flooding-risks/.
  8. Walton, Robert. “Cape Wind Developers Call It Quits.” Utility Dive, December 4, 2017. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/cape-wind-developers-call-it-quits/512203/.
  9. Wüstenhagen, Rolf. Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Innovation: An Introduction to the Concept. 2007. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227997801_Social_Acceptance_of_Renewable_Energy_Innovation_An_Introduction_to_the_Concept.