Abstract:
This study places barriers to community renewable energy deployment in a broader framework of Social Movement theory, in which community renewables deployment is conceptualized as a form of associative democracy. Drawing on qualitative and anecdotal accounts, interviews and summary reviews, key determinants for successful implementation of community energy initiatives are identified and operationalized. Based on a Scotland-wide survey of community-led renewable energy projects, a competing risk regression is used to estimate the cumulative probability of project completion conditional on technical, organizational and socio-political covariates. While a UK-wide analysis would be necessary to substantiate the findings, the initial results suggest that regional education levels, technology type and organizational land assets significantly influence the likelihood of project completion. No evidence is found for the influence of socio-political variables such as social cohesion or the levels of social integration into the wider energy network. The results support the notion that communities may not have equal opportunities to develop renewable energy or access public support schemes. Specifically, land access constraints and access to local expertise are key to any policy reforms aimed at facilitating effective participation by place-based social enterprises in the renewable energy sector.