The local impact of investment in renewables  [PDF version]  

Can renewable energy revitalise local economies? An IEEP project for the International Energy Agency looks at the jobs and business benefits that renewable energy initiatives across Europe and North America bring to their host areas.  

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What economic benefits can renewable energy projects offer to local communities? We know that decarbonising our energy systems makes sense for our economy as a whole, but how do we make it more attractive for local areas to welcome renewable energy infrastructure? 

IEEP’s current project (REvLOCAL) for the IEA-RETD (International Energy Agency – Renewable Energy Technology Deployment platform) sheds light on successful approaches to maximising the benefits for the local economy, and thereby increasing the deployment of renewable energy. Through six case studies (France: St Dizier and Le Mené, Norway: Nord Norge, the US: Santa Cruz, Canada: Bay of Fundy, Germany: Hamburg, and the UK: Furness peninsula) based on dozens of interviews, our team is uncovering how renewable energy across a range of locations and technologies (biogas, offshore wind, tidal, solar PV and more) can create jobs and business. 

The impacts discovered are extremely encouraging: many sustainable jobs for local people are established thanks to activities triggered by renewable energy projects. From boat transport, industry match-making and rental of safety equipment, to high-tech research and consulting, the examples of business opportunities that link to renewable energy investments are abundant. What’s more, existing jobs and businesses can be sustained, as the case studies on Le Mené (agricultural activity) and Barrow (ports and marine transport) show. The case studies will contribute to wider understanding of the co-benefits of renewables investment, and may contribute to the sometimes difficult local debates on siting of renewable energy infrastructure. 

The results of the project will be available by the end of the summer, but a presentation at the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week on 15 June (see IEEP Conferences and Events) offers an opportunity to hear what we have discovered. 

For further information, please contact Kamila Paquel.