REN21 - Renewable Energy Actors and Stakeholders

Creating the framework conditions and rules for renewable energy development is obviously in the competence of the political authorities in the respective territory. In most cases, renewable energy policy is primarily the responsibility of national governments. Often, however, sub-national authorities on the provincial/state, or municipal level also have considerable options to intervene, e.g. when it comes to land use and construction or as stakeholder in local utilities. Therefore, local governments typically are important in the implementation and enforcement of national policies.

National governments may agree to harmonise or coordinate their policies with the policies undertaken by other countries in the framework of a community of countries, such as the European Union, in order to increase coherence and ultimately the effectiveness of the renewable energy policies.

The RE policy of a country, state, or municipality is a result of the negotiations between the political forces in the particular constituency. The legislative and executive branches are in charge of design, implementation and enforcement of the policies. Political parties have been extremely important in launching initiatives and introducing them into the legislation process.

Stakeholders in renewable energy policy include the energy supply and service companies. More and more energy companies are taking a favourable stance towards renewables, changing from a defensive to a participatory attitude. This said, the government typically needs to bring this attitude about by first reducing the dominant market positions of established utilities. Apart from insisting on a level playing field and enabling market access to competitors, governments may include energy companies into an incentive structure.

Besides utilities and investors, the equipment industries and the financial services have also become important stakeholders since renewables have become big business, and their foreseeable behaviour should also be taken into account in order to increase the leverage of envisaged RE policies.

The attitude of the citizens depends greatly on the degree to which they can participate in and benefit from the development. Therefore, creating opportunities for urban households and farmers to invest in renewables will help boost political support. Non-governmental organisations are generally favourable stakeholders that support RE implementation while watching over disadvantageous developments. This role is crucial in order to maintain the positive image of renewable energy as a benign technology that is beneficial to society in general.