An IWA Report - Sharing power, spreading wealth: Towards an equitable energy

From the potential impact of CBFs associated with onshore renewables projects to new policies to retain greater wealth, the time is now for Wales to set the terms of exchange with industry to ensure accelerated renewable energy development and the decarbonisation of Wales’ economy whilst retaining greater economic and social benefits. [...] Furthermore, Community Energy Wales is resourced to support and facilitate shared ownership, offering a range of services to renewable energy developers to enable them to deliver shared ownership projects and support them to engage the local community.35 The Wales Energy scheme also provides free expert advice to support communities, individuals and developers to deliver shared ownership of their. [...] Given the potential for the use of CBFs to become more widespread and standardised across renewable and low carbon technologies including offshore wind, Solar PV, nuclear and tidal energy, and as the scale of investment and pipeline delivery of renewable energy projects in Wales grows, we are at a key moment of opportunity to see policy outputs from the Welsh Government that allow Wales to capture. [...] They find there is a ‘direct relationship between the understanding of benefit; the definition of a community; and the perception of impact’.51 Differing definitions and understandings of CBFs impacts the identified beneficiary community or geographic area. [...] The fund is flexible in order to meet the needs of communities across the coastal area but focuses on building strong and sustainable communities; developing prosperous communities with strong economic growth; and reducing poverty and inequality in communities.53 The provision of CBFs within the offshore wind sector emerged as the industry and developers decided to extend the positive element of C.