Local Communities

We are committed to creating a positive impact in the places where our renewable assets are located.

Building and operating a renewable plant involves interacting with all the local stakeholders who gravitate around the project, with whom it is necessary to initiate and maintain a virtuous dialogue and to share the benefits of a just and sustainable energy transition to promote local development opportunities.

This is also essential to ensure a smooth permitting process, the social acceptance of the plant, and coexistence with the community during its +30-year lifetime.

Transparency at the core of our approach

Our approach promotes greater transparency through clear and accessible communication during the development of the renewable plant.

Depending on the different phases of the project, various communication initiatives are implemented locally, starting with elaborating communication tools (brochures, announcements, dedicated websites, press releases) in the local language.

Listening to the needs of the local area

We aim to build a proactive relationship with local stakeholders on renewable projects by creating opportunities for dialogue and exchange.

We organise public meetings and webinars to present our projects and to listen to the expectations of the local community, enabling us to understand better the contexts in which we operate and to clarify every detail concerning the projects being developed and, if necessary, to adapt them to the requests being made.

Supporting added-value initiatives for the local area

Based on the different contexts and requests from the local communities, value-added initiatives generating benefits for the community can be implemented in the area affected by the renewable installations. These initiatives may focus on.

  • Energy efficiency applications for public buildings or green infrastructures (solar kit for municipalities, public parks, cycle paths)
  • The enhancement or renovation of cultural, artistic, and environmental heritage (renovation and maintenance of protected areas/assets, woodland management, reforestation)
  • Social impact projects (promoting knowledge of renewable technologies in schools, open days of the renewable plants)

First practical examples

  • In the UK, we provide a Community Benefit Fund of £500 per MW (AC) annually for all our solar developments. This is a dedicated community fund to spend on improvements in a local area over the operational lifetime of the solar farm.
  • In Italy, we design our projects whenever possible, including additional land dedicated to compensatory actions. Two pilot projects will be launched in the Piedmont region, where we will develop initiatives in synergy with the local community.

We commit to bringing our Local Stakeholders and Community Engagement approach to all the countries we operate, adapting it to the different realities we encounter.