Integrating Community-Based Conservation Principles into Power Sector Planning: A Proposed Framework for Practical Action

Background and Purpose

A key pillar of implementing TNC’s vision of maximizing the deployment of low-impact renewable energy involes integrating smart siting practices with long-term power sector planning (‘capacity expansion planning’). This kind of planning is done by governments and utilities, typically with a 20-30 year timeframe in mind, to determine (1) a forecast of energy needs, (2) the kind of energy mix that will meet those needs, and (3) where this energy is to be procured from. These plans are then used to inform the power sectore procurement strategy and and necessary regulatory reforms which shape energy project siting and associated transmission planning. Traditionally, power sector planning does not seriously represent or attempt to minimize impacts to people and nature. Moreover, such planning exercises rarely incorpate platforms for community involvement to provide input during the process.

It is the charge of this project to address this gap, specifically by defining a practical framework for integrating low-impact siting practices into traditional power sector planning approaches, and furthermore to identify the entry points in this framework for transparent and additive participatory processes, specifically, community-based engagement (note: appropriate approaches for community engagement differ among scales and time frames for planning and can have a range of benefit and challenges). The intended user of this framework includes TNC staff, NGOs, as well as members of energy planning agencies / regulatory bodies that embrace the vision of integrating progressive participatory practices and best-practice siting into capacity expansion planning efforts.

This document is organized in four sections. It begins with an overview of recent energy sector trends, which have driven the modern resurgence of interest in power sector planning. This is followed by a technical section that provides a ‘how-to’ for capacity expansion planning, as well as indicates where in it is possible to embed impact avoidance ‘wins’. The document follows with a primer on particicpatory engagement processes in the energy, highlighting a series of examples to provide a sample of the various forms this can take. Lastly, via a workshop survey, a set of practical ‘entry points’ is identified for how The Nature Conservancy can embed low-impact siting and participatory principles within the capacity expansion process.

Citation

The Nature Conservancy (2018). Integrating Community-Based Conservation Principles into Power Sector Planning: A Proposed Framework for Practical Action. Arlington, VA, USA.

Keywords: community-based conservation; community-based management; power sector; energy planning; smart siting; renewable energy; participatory processes