Structuring Community-led Projects

“Community-owned” is a good thing (why?). But capitalism is better set-up for individual ownership. So you’re likely going to have to invest in new thinking about how to structure your projects,

There are variants that stop short of community-ownership, such as a Philadelphia Solar Cooperative which helps neighbors install solar panels on their rooftops. Since almost half the cost of solar renewable is installation, this neighbor-to-neighbor support helps low-income people make solar more affordable.

Alternatives to community-ownership include:

Voting control rests with a community-based organisation
The majority of social and economic benefits are distributed locally
The entity owning the renewable energy is locally invested (such as owned by the public government or Tribal leadership).

But when talking about community ownership here are some example different models:

Structure	Definition of Organisational Structure	When to consider it?
Cooperatives	Cooperatives are formal legal entities that uphold democratic decision-making and the equitable distribution of benefits. Some common characteristics of cooperatives include: Jointly owned by all members who each have one vote no matter how many shares they own Have explicit social and/or environmental goals as part of their mission Often operate as a non-profit, returning excess profits to members (however, they can be for-profits) Tend to require longer Decision-making processes to reach democratic agreement Incorporate member education and training programs into structure Supports strong owner and worker buy-in on decisions	Community wants/needs planning processes that involve realizing shared goals and values Project has clearly defined stakeholders (i.e. area residents, suppliers, limited group of buyers, energy providers, etc.) The core of the cooperative structure is the ownership of the business by the users Community members simply want to buy renewable energy technology and installations in bulk for individual use (Community Group Purchasing)
Small Businesses / Nonprofits	Small Business models are formal, structures that give decision-making power to one or more individuals. They could be for-profit or not-for-profit. Small business community renewable energy projects typically act as wholesale power providers. In this case, the community-owned project simply sells power into the competitive market, with revenue shared among participating community members and investors.	Allows for more rapid decision-making Greater access to incentives and development support Increased protection for investors from the risk of investing in a new and rapidly changing sector
Landowner Pools	Landowner Pools occur when several landowners with adjacent land pool the land together to maximize the use of the natural resource and to compensate all affected landowners. Landowner Pools are often combined with the cooperative structure and used for wind energy systems or other projects that demand large amounts of land and space.	Have been used for shared wind energy projects between rural farmers to decrease “turbine envy.” Turbine envy occurs when one landowner gets their turbines up first, arraying them in such a way (on the boundary) that the neighboring landowner cannot erect their own turbines, and yet receives no benefit from the installation. Enhance current working relationships and resource sharing. Able to create equitable partnerships based on the amount of land individuals provide, the number of turbines erected on their land, and the length of any road or cable installed on their land
Partnerships	Formal or informal collaborations between entities to construct, own, and operate a renewable energy project. Partnerships are often between a community group and a larger community/local institution, where partners share decision-making power equally. Common renewable energy partnerships include: Two or more community cooperatives/groups Community cooperative or tribal entity with a municipal utility Community group with local school/university Group of homeowners and individuals	Increases negotiation power through collective action Decreases personal and group investment risk Increase the equity of a project by involving multiple parties and groups Expanded collective expertise, funding, or technical knowledge
Indigenous structures (e.g. Kato)	Oftentimes there are indigenous ways of working that have been marginalized in communities. A group of Pacific community organisations joined together to created a mechanism to support resiliency and promote renewable energy. The model is a mix of external support (from the diaspora and more), international funding, and funding moved from within the community. They very intentionally called it Kato – Pacific Community Climate Fund. Kato means Basket in Fijian and speaks to their old ways of basket weaving (tali kato) which is a craft passed down generation to generation through community support.	Your community is or wants to be connected to old ways — and the language/metaphor of those old ways can resonate with your intended community

Parts of this table adapted from the NAACP’s Just Energy: Reducing Pollution, Creating Jobs Toolkit

Within each of these models is a range of options. For examples cooperatives might be:

Consumer cooperatives — sometimes called a “buyer’s cooperative” where the customer base comes together to own the project;
Worker-owned cooperatives — owned by the people who employees who are all co-op members;
Energy cooperatives — as an alternative to investor-owned utility cooperatives, these are formed by folks in a community to provide energy at competitive prices;
Purchasing cooperatives — where a group of individuals agree to buy energy in bulk (they don’t technically own the projects but instead negotiate purchase prices for their members).