Table 1 Governance and socio-political factors that condition citizen engagement in CECs25.
Uncertainty and change in renewable energy policies | Regulatory gaps, inconsistencies, complicated tax rules, and changing regulations such as the closure of Feed-in Tariff (FIT) schemes have a significant impact on market confidence both for investors and for community groups tasked with setting up a CEC |
Lack of institutional support | Non-recognition of CECs as legal identities, changing conditions from regulators, and complex administrative procedures related to planning permissions |
Limited funding and access to finance | There is some early-stage funding to assess CECs technical feasibility in some jurisdictions. However, projects are often stalled due to limited, or poorly targeted funding opportunities resulting in perceptions of poor financial viability for CEC projects |
Lack of support for innovation | Lack of access to technical expertise, information, and data to design, plan, implement and commission a project also impacts project viability |
Lack of organisational capacity and time | CECs often rely on volunteers who have limited access to good quality information and/or time to develop greater individual and organisational capacity building |
Exclusion of vulnerable populations from projects | High initial investment and time costs make CEC membership rather exclusive and more typically attract middle- or high-income individuals, and therefore (un)intentionally ostracise certain cohorts of society |
Lack of trust in the private and public sectors | Lack of trust in local and national governments, and existing energy developers, has led some community organisations to miss out on opportunities to leverage industry partnerships, which are often critical for accessing funding and knowledge sharing |
