Community acceptance challenges of renewable energy transitions: A tale of two solar parks in Limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

Severe problems of climate change, inequality, poverty, and unemployment have compelled the South African government to pass legislation that introduced programmes aimed at achieving energy security, promoting economic development, and realising environmental protection. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme objective is to increase the share of renewable sources in the national energy mix, deliver jobs and economic empowerment for black communities (Africans, Coloureds, and Indians) and cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Independent power producers (IPPs) must demonstrate that their projects contribute to job creation and broad-based black economic empowerment during the bidding process. To date, studies suggest that IPPs are missing this government target. This study investigated this phenomenon through face-to-face interviews with key informants involved in the IPP process at two solar parks in Limpopo province. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the field notes. Findings reveal that the process of involving local communities in the governance of the IPP process is highly fragmented, leaving room for powerful stakeholders to thrive over vulnerable community members. The lack of monitoring by the government IPP office enables a prominent not-for-profit organisation to abscond from its responsibility of setting up a community trust for the benefit of local residents. Also, limited skills in the local communities mean that young people are employed in low-paying construction jobs that end after project commissioning. Lack of awareness and knowledge about IPP commitments made during the bidding process are responsible for the ‘wait and see’ approach of local leaders and community members. In the short-term, awareness and capacity-building interventions for local leaders and community members are urgently required to conscientise beneficiaries. It is imperative to create a participatory governance framework that prioritises vulnerable stakeholders as a long-term solution.

Procurement, finance and the energy transition: Between global processes and territorial realities

“…In addition, many project trusts have been established by project developers with minimal or no consultation with the community concerned. Project companies have also been allowed to dictate local community empowerment targets to local residents during the bidding process (Nkoana, 2018) but have then failed to deliver on the targets they set. As the majority of projects are situated in rural areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment, this has challenged the already limited planning capacity of municipal and provincial governments (Wlokas, 2015).…”

“…As the majority of projects are situated in rural areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment, this has challenged the already limited planning capacity of municipal and provincial governments (Wlokas, 2015). For this reason, in many instances poor management of the process has resulted in a 'tyranny of participation', which has reinforced 'the control of powerful stakeholders over vulnerable communities' (Nkoana, 2018).…”

A Review of Energy Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa as a Transition Pathway to Energy Democracy

“…In addition, most projects are wholly owned by government or elite organisations that do not transfer power to local communities. [18,[44][45][46][47][48]50,55,56,58,59,61,[66][67][68][69] Policy SSA states do not have adequate regulatory frameworks that would incentivise communities to engage in energy projects. [14,18,[44][45][46][47][48]50] Institutional Communities lack the institutional support such as policy advice or business services to develop and manage energy projects.…”

“…[14,18,[44][45][46][47][48]50,67] In SSA, the current regulatory environment is not sufficient to provide for the emergence and growth of energy communities [14,18,[44][45][46][47][48]50]. Most notably, a review of the 19 energy projects listed in Table 3 shows a great consensus amongst scholars citing lack or poor community engagement as a major challenge or barrier to the success of energy communities in SSA [18,[44][45][46][47][48]50,55,56,58,59,61,[66][67][68][69]. Governments and energy regulators have also been reluctant to liberalize the market, which is a necessity for empowering energy communities.…”

“…The sophisticated business models such as peer-to-peer, prosumer-to-grid, and organised prosumer group models that are used by energy communities in the Global North, are not replicable for low-resourced, energy-poor communities in SSA. The regulatory frameworks required to govern these decentralised configurations and novel business models provide an additional layer of complexity that many SSA countries are not yet able to navigate [52,69,71]. In this regard, Damien and Frame [55] urge that SSA countries need contextualised community energy strategies that are driven by localised approaches, contextualised knowledge, and strong leadership.…”