The architecture of inter-community partnerships in renewable energy: the role of climate intermediaries

ABSTRACT The infrastructure sector is undergoing a significant process of change, as part of which the state is reducing its direct engagement. This has spotlighted local communities, which are increasingly involved in various infrastructure projects, specifically renewable energy projects. However, because individual communities often find it difficult to establish infrastructure projects independently, they tend to collaborate in the framework of inter-community partnerships. Despite the global prevalence of such partnerships, it is still unclear what constitutes the “glue” binding various communities together, enabling them to promote infrastructure projects, and renewable energy projects in particular. Our study addresses this research lacuna, focusing on the role of climate intermediaries in facilitating these partnerships. Based on internal correspondences regarding the promotion of “Ru’ach Bereshit,” the largest wind farm planned in Israel to date, we demonstrate how an individual climate intermediary engaged in negotiations in four arenas: within communities, between communities, vis-à-vis private developers, and vis-à-vis regulators. By exploring climate intermediaries’ multi-arena negotiations, this study demonstrates how such intermediaries succeed in synchronizing local energy policies with national energy policies to promote a renewable energy project that transcends the community level of analysis.