Campaign Builder

Why should I make a petition?

To apply pressure on a campaign target by demonstrating public support for your campaign and;
To grow your campaign and build a list of supporters for recruitment and future activities.

What should I campaign on?

Everyone is at a different stage in their journey to creating community-led renewable energy. Here are some issues you could take on in your petition:

Here are four suggestions for petition campaigns to help address a hurdle in your community-led renewable energy project – whether it is about space, funding, regulations, or getting high-quality products. Each example has suggestions for a Title, Decision Makers, What it could be about, and Why you’re doing it. You will have to adapt the examples to your needs!

Perhaps you have built a team, but you’re seeking permission to use a public building or space (a school, municipality building, or public space) as a site for a renewable energy project. You could petition the owner of the building to greenlight the project.

Decision-Maker: eg. Stephanie Burtz, Chairperson of Faketown High School

Titles: Let’s Solar our School! / Faketown needs a battery! / Let’s RE-power Faketown!

What is this about?

We’re calling on Chairperson Stephanie Burtz to allow the community to make Faketown High School a solar hub. With X solar panels across the school’s roof space, this solar hub would provide energy for the school and a valuable lesson for its students.

Why is this important?

The Parents and Friends Association has come together to develop the business case for putting solar panels on our school. With summers becoming hotter, we want to make sure the school is blackout-proof.

By putting a solar array on the roof of Faketown High School, we can generate our own energy and put it right back into the school. This also provides a vital opportunity for students to learn about renewable energy and climate change, right here at school.

Our School Council must approve the use of the school’s rooftops to unlock its solar potential!

You might have already found a building but there might be little or no funding for community energy projects in your municipality. You could put pressure on your council to deliver grants for clean energy projects.

Decision-Maker: eg. John Smith, Mayor of Faketown

Titles: Faketown Wants Renewables Grants! / John Smith, Let’s Solar Faketown! / Grant Faketown Some Solar! / Grant us a battery, John Smith!

What is this about?

We’re calling on Mayor John Smith to allocate more funding for community-led renewable energy projects.

Sign this petition to demand more funding for community renewable initiatives like ours!

Why is this important?

The world is speeding ahead with renewable energy but Faketown is being left behind. While other councils provide grants for community energy projects worth $X each year, Faketown only gives $Y.

The Badname Solar Hub will create renewable energy to power X homes, right here in Faketown. We are community-owned, so all profits from the energy generation will be invested in local opportunities and services.

Our community is ready for Faketown’s biggest renewable energy project yet – the Badname Solar Hub. We have a super team of community members, we have secured the building, but we lack the funds to get it off the ground.

Maybe you’ve set up, but you are now facing a regulatory issue, such as corporations blocking access to the energy grid. You could petition the state or country authority to allow community energy projects to be part of the grid.

Decision-Maker: eg. Irina Coster, CEO of FakeGrid

Titles: Let Community Energy Projects in! / Let’s boost the grid with community energy!

What is this about?

Power companies currently have a monopoly over the energy that goes into the grid. But what if this didn’t have to be the case? We’re calling on FakeGrid to allow community energy projects and batteries into the energy grid. This would help Faketown’s energy transition and reduce power prices for locals.

Sign this petition to demand fair grid integration for community renewable initiatives like ours!

Why is this important?

The world is speeding ahead with renewable energy but Faketown is being left behind. In other countries, small-scale solar and wind energy projects are owned by the community and feed right back into the grid – energy produced and used locally.

But current regulations prevent community-led energy projects like the Faketown Solar Hub from doing more than powering its own buildings. Our project produces far more energy than we can use – the rest of the town deserves this energy, which would reduce prices for all!

If we change the regulations around grid integration, our Hub and other projects around the country could soon be supporting the energy transition, reducing bills, and cleaning up our air.

Maybe your issue could be getting high-quality products like solar panels or batteries. You could petition the government to introduce minimum standards for renewable energy equipment.

Decision-Maker: eg. Francois Bacon, Energy Minister

Titles: We deserve better solar panels! / Let’s get minimum standards for green technology!

What is this about?

Everyone deserves access to clean and fair renewable energy – and that means having good quality equipment to generate electricity. That’s why we are calling on the Energy Minister to put in place minimum standards for renewable energy products, such as solar panels and batteries. This would allow us to start a green energy revolution, not just get the secondhand leftovers from rich countries.

Sign this petition to demand our renewable energy solutions are just as good as those of rich countries!

Why is this important?

The world is speeding ahead with renewable energy but our country is being left behind. In other countries, any solar panel, wind turbine or battery has to meet a minimum standard – or it cannot be sold at all. Our country has no such standard, so we get dumped with poor-quality technology that rich countries can’t use.

By putting in place a minimum standard for solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries, our communities will be better equipped to take power generation into their own hands. This will support the energy transition, reduce our bills, and clean up our air.

Is your hurdle not covered by our examples? Try starting a petition the best that you can, and we’ll be in touch to help you refine it.

Start a Petition Campaign

Clicking this link will take you to our citizen-led petitions platform.

For more guidance on setting up a petition campaign, see our Petition Resources page.

If you’re looking to get started with a community-led renewable energy project, sign up to the Our Own Power network here, or download our Community Energy Toolkit here.