Community Based Clean Energy
The Opportunity
To set a precedent for
effective private sector
partnerships,
To maximise the local
economic development
potential from an
emerging resource sector,
To create value in areas
that have not had
resource booms, or have
dwindling natural
resource,
To make energy a net
gain rather than a net
drain on local resources.
Community Based Projects
Include the following dimensions:
The community is involved throughout project
development,
The community is fully informed about all aspects
of the project,
The community has some degree of ownership,
and therefore influence over the direction of the
project, and,
Derives a financial benefit over the lifetime of the
wind project,
Transparently and accountably manages their
revenues for local social and economic
development.
Community Value
Community value is created through:
‘Co-developing’ projects with Just Energy,
Being land owners, users or occupiers,
Being a key influencer in project decision making,
Developing local social backing and
understanding for the project,
Building the political profile for the project,
Creating ‘CSR value’ for project partners.
Project Structures
We seek to achieve:
A mix of fixed income (lease / revenue
share) and equity,
An equity share for the community to
include:
A ‘free’ carry – developers share + recognition
of inherent community value,
A financed portion – shareholder loans etc,
Typically structured via a community trust
or similar.
Community Benefits
Projects provide a meaningful annual income for the community,
In a typical project we would target to include a 10% ‘free’ carry
and a further 15% financed share,
Long term management training and skills development to assist
in the process of investing community revenues,
Other benefits include (some) jobs and land rental income.
Annual Income to Community (EUR m)
2.00
1.80
1.60
Annual Income to Community for a 20MW Project
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
Income from employment
Net income from landlease
Income from equity stake
Community Benefits
New source of ongoing income that can be used to:
Support job creation and development of small/medium
enterprises,
Improve education and healthcare,
Improve infrastructure and access to basic services,
Job creation and increased spending in the local economy,
especially during construction,
Local infrastructure and transportation improvements.
Who are
?
A ‘niche’ developer of community based
clean energy enterprises.
An independently funded majority South
African ‘owned’ section 21 (not for profit)
company in registration.
A project and close relative of Oxfam Great
Britain and Just Energy UK.
How do we work
In partnership with
Community Groups (Prerequisite).
Maximising community
benefit is our driving goal.
Technical delivery through a
series of industry leading
partnerships.
Minimum overheads to
maximise community return.
Not for profit – cost recovery
basis. Additional returns
channelled to communities.
Who do we work with
Current Enterprises
A small portfolio of
‘small and mid sized’
projects (e.g. 5 – 35
MW) across the
Northern, Western and
Eastern Cape.
Success Factors!
Local, Provincial and National Government
support.
Securing PPAs. (private or government).
Appropriate structuring of community trusts.
Appropriate training for community managers and
leaders.
Land lease issues.
Legislative issues such as noise issues.
Smaller project size thresholds.
Ntownsend@oxfam.org.uk
WWW.JUST-ENERGY.ORG