The study focused on exploring the perceived social impacts and experiences of engaging in community renewable energy (CRE) by Welsh communities. In this way, it utilised the lens of key stakeholders, but also innovatively the perspectives of shareholders and community hubs. This was across a range of four case studies and a consortium in North and South Wales, UK centred on Ynni Padarn Peris, Ynni Ogwen, Awel Co-op and Gower Regeneration CRE projects, as well as Cyd Ynni. The role of CRE has increasingly been recognised within a low-carbon transition and tackling climate change as an area of policy and innovation within communities, in an international and UK context. The narrative literature review identified the emergent area of CRE as a new field of enquiry, surfacing the need for a closer examination of the process relating to social impacts for communities. This knowledge gap was examined through the research question focused on understanding how CRE projects generated social impacts, alongside renewable energy to create ‘energised’ local communities. The study design focused on an explanatory, multiple-embedded case study approach (Yin, 2014). It positioned the study within the theoretical literature on community and place attachment as well as social and cultural capital. The study initially focused on the perspectives of key stakeholders and shareholders involved in projects. It subsequently widened the scope to include the broader views of local civic society through community hubs. This resulted in a total of 57 interviews (67 participants). Furthermore, a series of observations and fieldwork was completed. Data analysis focused on within-case and cross case analysis (Yin, 2014; 2018), focused on coding and analytic procedures and an iterative approach between theory and data. The study generated a number of substantive original contributions. The findings importantly highlighted how place attachment was the context for, but also shaped the engagement of communities with CRE projects. This included how natural resources were utilised over time in post-industrial communities. In addition, the findings presented a novel lens that documented how projects were positioned xv within multiple communities within a community. Furthermore, a key contribution in the findings identified that CRE projects utilised and generated bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. In addition, to be successful they used and benefited both internal and external networks. It also innovatively mapped the importance of cultural capital in CRE, centred on key stakeholders’ existing knowledge and experience.
Significantly, the findings identified the challenges not only at the development phase but also at the established stage of projects. An important insight was that it highlighted how civic engagement in projects, centred on the interplay between local and global issues. Significantly, a key contribution of the overarching findings was the importance of social impacts beyond the boundaries of financial returns. This included local decision-making, building capacity and sense of ownership. Importantly, it also identified how projects were catalytic and created awareness and education about renewable energy and global environmental issues, embedded in the local context. Further, the findings identified how a long-term income from projects, generated a sense of stability and autonomy for communities.