🎧 Guest:
Seda Orhan, Renewable Energy Programme Manager at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and board member at the Renewable Grids Initiative
🔎 Episode Summary:
If the first time locals hear about your wind or solar project is when the diggers arrive, you’ve already lost.
In this episode, Marine Cornelis is joined by Seda Orhan to discuss the invisible ingredient that makes or breaks renewable energy projects: trust. Seda unpacks CAN Europe’s latest report, Community Engagement and Fair Benefit Sharing of Renewable Energy Projects, which offers 14+1 concrete KPIs to help developers—and policymakers—move beyond box-ticking towards meaningful participation.
Because here’s the thing: community engagement isn’t a brochure. It’s a conversation. And when it works, it’s magic.
🌱 Highlights:
From resistance to resilience: Why fair benefit sharing is essential to earning a social licence—and how failing to build trust delays or even kills projects.
What bad engagement looks like: Seda lays out the patterns: poor site choices, vague timelines, late-stage notifications, and empty “consultations.”
The 14+1 checklist for fairness: Practical indicators—from local jobs to co-ownership—to assess whether a project genuinely benefits its host community.
Italy vs Germany: What different regulatory approaches reveal about who gets heard—and who gets sidelined.
Why co-ownership matters: The transformative power of giving communities not just a voice, but a stake.
🛠️ Resource spotlight:
📄 Community Engagement and Fair Benefit Sharing of Renewable Energy Projects – CAN Europe Report
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Music: I Need You Here - Kamarius
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