There is one reality in most developments that builds in the risk of failure: Developers invest heavily in the technical, financial and legal (permitting) pillars of a potential project - while local support is in most cases treated as a secondary rather than core pillar, addressed only after most key decisions have already been made. We wrote about this in Local Support - the fourth pillar of successful projects. Yet one question remains:
What does building that pillar deliver – for developers, communities, and governments?
When you look closely across hundreds of renewable energy projects, a clear pattern emerges.
Projects rarely fail because of engineering or finance.
They fail on social feasibility – the equivalent of technical feasibility, but for trust, legitimacy, and fit with people and place.
The Real Cost of Weak Social Foundations
Just as projects that begin without properly assessing ground conditions can undermine an otherwise solid structure, projects that proceed without understanding or meaningfully engaging with their host communities develop weak social feasibility that cascades into system-wide problems:
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Timelines slip: approvals, construction, and delivery stall.
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Designs fracture: logistics and sequencing break down, redesigns multiply, and costs escalate.
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Political support erodes: contested projects drain planning systems, and weaken public trust.
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Investor confidence falters: risk premiums rise, portfolios underperform, and capital shifts elsewhere.
The result?
Projects take longer, cost more, deliver less, and undermine the very momentum the energy transition depends on.
A Smarter Way Forward
Success shows that the same teamwork that delivers results internally also works externally: collaborative design with host communities is the smarter way forward.
The fourth pillar, therefore, is built through a subtle shift in mindset and leadership: recognising that in shared spaces, the host community is an equally important part of the project team.
The Renewables AT PACE framework – created through systematic research, development, and demonstration, co-financed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) – is designed to enable this.
AT PACE provides a structured, repeatable method to design projects with communities, not despite them.
It transforms engagement from a compliance exercise into a collaboration process – one that aligns national energy goals with local needs and values.
Three Key Stakeholder Domains
The framework integrates the perspectives of three key stakeholder domains, each of whom must view the project as legitimate and value-adding in order for it to succeed:
1. Developers & Investors – Investment Rewarded
Ensures social feasibility is managed early, protecting timelines, reducing uncertainty, and safeguarding returns.
2. Host Communities – Local Futures Strengthened
Ensures communities have agency, that impacts are addressed, and that renewable energy projects contribute positively to cohesion and opportunity.
3. Policy & Planning – Targets Delivered
Ensures national goals are achieved through projects that are locally legitimate, politically durable, and socially supported.
The Three Cases for Renewables AT PACE
These three domains of legitimacy each include their own internal stakeholders. Each builds its own case for why collaborative design is now the smarter route for everyone involved:
The Business Case
Why collaboration protects investment and accelerates delivery
Delays kill returns. A one-year delay in a 50 MW project can result in €9–14 million in lost revenue – many times more than the cost of structured collaboration.
AT PACE reduces risk, builds investor confidence, and makes success repeatable.
Read the Business Case
The Host Community Case
Why collaboration strengthens fairness, cohesion, and local futures
Communities don’t fear renewable energy – they fear irresponsible projects.
AT PACE ensures local voices are heard, irresponsible projects are screened out, and responsible projects are supported to deliver shared value.
Read the Host Community Case
The Policy & Planning Case
Why collaborative design matters for delivering national targets
Governments and planning systems face unprecedented pressure to deliver renewable capacity at speed and scale.
AT PACE removes poor projects early, strengthens legitimacy, and reduces political risk – making national targets achievable and beneficial.
Read the Policy & Planning Case
The Bigger Picture
Each case is compelling on its own. Together, they show why Renewables AT PACE is an innovation that works for everyone:
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Developers protect their investments.
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Communities protect their futures.
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Policymakers protect legitimacy and delivery.
AT PACE isn’t just better engagement – it enables smarter governance: building trust, reducing risk, and creating supported projects that can withstand the pressures facing today’s energy transition.
