ISD AcademyInstitute for Social Dialogue
Register free to start

What this course is about

This course gives everyone near a wind, solar or battery storage project the same basic map: how projects are built and run, who makes which decisions, what a project may have promised the community, and why interests sometimes clash. It is the recommended first course in the Renewable Energy School.

Who it is for

Community members near existing or planned projects, community trust members, ward committee members, traditional and civic leaders, local business owners, project employees and contractors, and municipal officials new to renewable energy.

What you will be able to do

  1. Describe the life of a renewable energy project from development to decommissioning.
  2. Identify who decides what, and explain the difference between projects in public procurement programmes and privately contracted projects.
  3. Find out what a specific project has committed to the local community, and where those commitments are written down.
  4. Distinguish shared interests from conflicting ones, and explain why trust grows when both sides expect to deal with each other for many years.

Preview: the first two minutes

Module 1 · Introduction · 2 min

An older farmer in a brown felt hat stands on a grassy hillside looking at a row of small wooden pegs tied with orange tape.

Animated scene (fictional, Moya, a fictional district): a farmer, a school leaver and a municipal clerk each see survey pegs appear on a hill. Each hears a different rumour about what is coming. The screen asks: "Who here actually knows what happens next?"

Modules

  1. Module 1 · 18 min

    How wind, solar and storage projects work

    Describe the life of a renewable energy project from development to decommissioning.

  2. Module 2 · 18 min

    Who decides, and public versus private projects

    Identify who decides what, and explain the difference between projects in public procurement programmes and privately contracted projects.

  3. Module 3 · 18 min

    What projects promise communities

    Find out what a specific project has committed to the local community, and where those commitments are written down.

  4. Module 4 · 18 min

    Where interests meet and clash

    Distinguish shared interests from conflicting ones, and explain why trust grows when both sides expect to deal with each other for many years.

Go deeper

Optional, outside the 72 minutes.

Sources

Renewable Energy Explained: Roles, Rights and Responsibilities | ISD Academy