3.5.4 Discussion

The transfer of the CIC’s ownership to the community could offer significant advantages to the community. In fact, the community could be eligible to decide formally and directly whether it will acquire a regular income (revenues) originating from the operation of the community solar farm and the provision of electricity to the distribution network. It could also take the advantage of the financial reward provided to eligible community installations under the national FIT scheme and export tariff.

The future participation of the community in the CIC’s ownership and membership could grant the community regular participation in decision-making. As such, the community could direct the use of produced energy and the generated income of the CIC for its own benefit. Accordingly, the community will have the opportunity to decide formally and directly the way in which the generated revenues could be exploited for its own benefit, while simultaneously enjoying the privileges of producing and using the produced renewable energy in the most beneficial way.

Likewise, the participation of community into membership and decision- making may contribute to the development of various schemes of community investing and community financing. Community financing schemes may result in a sustainable financing scheme for Stratford PLCIC and a steady income for community investors. They may receive a regular income through capital returns and a specified interest regularly paid by the CIC (Stratford PLCIC CIC Report 2016; Stratford PLCIC Annual Accounts 2016).

The transfer of Stratford’s PLCIC ownership to the community could also allow for the exercise of community membership in the organisation. Through membership, community stakeholders could be admitted into the decision- making processes of the governing bodies of Stratford PLCIC, such as the board of directors and/or annual meeting of members. In doing so, the community could thereby exercise voting rights and participation in decision- making in a manner that they will consider as beneficial to the community. Such a manner could entail, i.e. democratic processes that directly represent several stakeholder groups and community constituents and/or appointed experts who could be assigned to serve the community objectives.

Community ownership and membership and the participation and representation of the community as members in decision-making could also encourage the development of regular and more formalised consultation processes as the CIC grows, other than those already exercised by Anesco and Stratford PLCIC at the development phase. More regular and formalised consultation processes could increase the accountability of the CIC to its community stakeholders regarding: (i) the use of the produced energy; (ii) the distribution of the generated income back to the community; and (iii) the presentation of the natural environment, the minimisation of any adverse effects and the maximisation of the solar farm’s socio-economic impact back to the local community. Community participation in the CIC’s ownership and membership could also increase the level of communication and interaction of the CIC’s owners of shares and decision-makers with the local community, which could be advanced using either formal and/or informal means of sharing information with community stakeholders.

The examined CIC was a young organisation, which had not yet met its community objectives fully. As such, the participation of the community was not yet formally realised in the ownership and membership of the organisation, nor had it been realised in the governance of the examined CIC discussed in this article. However, several informal means of communication and consultancy were available to community stakeholders (Table 3.14), and included the CIC’s commitment to collaborate closely with them in the future.