Community consultation for a wind farm project

What is shaping energy

The energy transition brings rooftop solar, clean cooking, EV charging and efficient appliances to homes and businesses. Adoption depends on cost, trust, financing and after-sales support.

• Rooftop solar adoption depends on financing and installer trust
• Clean cooking programmes need sustained use, not just connections
• Businesses are setting their own transition targets

A renewable energy developer, working in South Africa. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A renewable energy developer

Sector

Energy

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Qualitative research, Quantitative research, Government research

The developer needed to understand community expectations and concerns around a proposed wind farm, including employment and local benefits. Earlier projects in the region had faced protests over unmet promises of jobs and benefits.

• Deliver on the brief: community consultation for a wind farm project.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of residents.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of meetings.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 8 weeks.

The work focused on 1,000 residents and 10 meetings.

• residents1,000
• meetings10

Audiences we typically reach in energy

HouseholdsSmall businessesInstallers and channel partnersProgramme beneficiariesEnergy managers

Coverage: South Africa. Market: South Africa.

• South Africa

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Community survey
3. 3Stakeholder meetings
4. 4Insight

We surveyed residents in local languages about awareness, expectations and concerns, and facilitated meetings with community leaders and local businesses. Interviews were conducted in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, and findings were presented back to the community in public meetings. Separate sessions were held with women and young people to ensure their priorities were heard.

Qualitative researchQuantitative researchGovernment research

residents

1,000

meetings

10

• Respondents were selected across South Africa using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Residents prioritised local jobs and a community trust with transparent governance.
• The developer included both in its project plan.
• A local skills programme was also planned to prepare residents for construction and maintenance jobs.

Benefit-sharing built support for the project.

• Build on the core insight: benefit-sharing built support for the project.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: residents prioritised local jobs and a community trust with transparent governance.

• Community support improved, and the project progressed through consultation without major objections.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims
• Evaluation findings with programme recommendations

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: what holds back rooftop solar?