Good Practices
Good Practices

Activity

Community and local benefits from electricity grid projects

Helping grid infrastructure create lasting value for local communities, while enhancing public acceptance.

Activity

Topic

Public Acceptance & Engagement

Dimension

Energy & Society

While accelerating grid deployment and enhancing existing ones is essential to support the rapid growth of renewable energy and electrification, grid projects cannot be planned or implemented in isolation. They must consider the communities and environments they affect, ensuring that local stakeholders are not only informed but also empowered to benefit meaningfully from infrastructure development.

For years, benefit-sharing in grid projects focused narrowly on monetary compensation for directly affected landowners or one-off community payments. However, a holistic that creates social, environmental, and economic value can help foster fairness, legitimacy, and long-term trust.

Why community and local benefits matter?

Grid development often faces local opposition, but meaningful engagement can turn challenges into opportunities. Community and local benefits schemes address this by:

Providing funds and resources for local needs, from schools and playgrounds to nature protection. These investments go beyond mandated compensations, improving well-being and social cohesion.

Empowering local voices, allowing communities to shape decisions that impact their lives and surroundings. This participation strengthens democratic processes and ensures benefits align with local priorities.

Building trust and acceptance through transparent and inclusive processes. Particularly for grid operators, such benefits can serve as tools to enhance public acceptance, demonstrating a commitment to support the impacted communities.

Learn more

Seeking to define how community and local benefits can be effectively implemented in electricity grid projects, RGI published the report ‘Community and Local Benefits from electricity grid infrastructure’. By sharing knowledge, fostering dialogue, and highlighting best practices, the report aims to inspire grid operators to implement CLBs to strengthen communities. Check out the report and other outcomes on this thematic below.

27 February 2026

Community & Local Benefits from Electricity Grid Development
Brochure Public Acceptance & Engagement

01 September 2018

Community payments: Case studies from across Europe
Brochure Public Acceptance & Engagement

Other activities related to public engagement

RGI’s work on ‘Implementing the EU Pact for Engagement’

Learn More

Explore the Topic ‘Public Acceptance & Engagement’

Learn More

contact

Stephanie Bätjer

Director – Communication

Stephanie Bätjer

Director – Communication

t: +49 30 2332 11017
Stephanie Bätjer is leading the Renewables Grid Initiative’s communication and event activities as Programme Manager – Communication. She is also heavily involved in RGI’s policy work and all activities that look at social engagement around grids. She previously worked in the communications team of the European Climate Foundation. Stephanie has studied at the Universities of Marburg and Hamburg, Germany, and the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She holds degrees in political science and journalism.

Dr. Andrzej Ceglarz

Director – Energy Systems

Dr. Andrzej Ceglarz

Director – Energy Systems

t: +49 30 233211014
Andrzej has been working at RGI since May 2017, having previously cooperated with RGI as researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Currently, he works as a Director for Energy Systems, being responsible for projects and activities under the RGI’s Technical Dimension addressing the questions how to plan, design and implement a carbon-free and optimised energy system. He holds a Master Degree in International Relations from the Wrocław University and completed his PhD at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich.

Dr. Ira Shefer

Manager – Energy Systems

Dr. Ira Shefer

Manager – Energy Systems

t: +49 30 2332 11000
Ira joined the Technical Team at RGI in July 2023. Previously he worked in the BMBF-funded research project Ariadne on local acceptance of wind energy in Germany. Ira holds a Ph.d. from the Technical University of Munich, researching transnational collaborations and their impacts on local climate governance and policy making. He has a MA of Environmental Studies at Nagoya University (Japan) and has a joint Bachelor of Law (LLB) and Asian Studies from Haifa University (Israel. Ira was engaged in several research initiatives that addressed, among others, urban climate governance (at RIFS, Germany) and green building (ILGBC, Israel). He was also a reporter and sections editor at an Israeli magazine for seven years, covering environmental and development issues.

Stephanie Bätjer

Director – Communication

Stephanie Bätjer

Director – Communication

t: +49 30 2332 11017
Stephanie Bätjer is leading the Renewables Grid Initiative’s communication and event activities as Programme Manager – Communication. She is also heavily involved in RGI’s policy work and all activities that look at social engagement around grids. She previously worked in the communications team of the European Climate Foundation. Stephanie has studied at the Universities of Marburg and Hamburg, Germany, and the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She holds degrees in political science and journalism.

Dr. Andrzej Ceglarz

Director – Energy Systems

Dr. Andrzej Ceglarz

Director – Energy Systems

t: +49 30 233211014
Andrzej has been working at RGI since May 2017, having previously cooperated with RGI as researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Currently, he works as a Director for Energy Systems, being responsible for projects and activities under the RGI’s Technical Dimension addressing the questions how to plan, design and implement a carbon-free and optimised energy system. He holds a Master Degree in International Relations from the Wrocław University and completed his PhD at the School of Social Sciences and Technology at the Technical University of Munich.

Dr. Ira Shefer

Manager – Energy Systems

Dr. Ira Shefer

Manager – Energy Systems

t: +49 30 2332 11000
Ira joined the Technical Team at RGI in July 2023. Previously he worked in the BMBF-funded research project Ariadne on local acceptance of wind energy in Germany. Ira holds a Ph.d. from the Technical University of Munich, researching transnational collaborations and their impacts on local climate governance and policy making. He has a MA of Environmental Studies at Nagoya University (Japan) and has a joint Bachelor of Law (LLB) and Asian Studies from Haifa University (Israel. Ira was engaged in several research initiatives that addressed, among others, urban climate governance (at RIFS, Germany) and green building (ILGBC, Israel). He was also a reporter and sections editor at an Israeli magazine for seven years, covering environmental and development issues.