The public inclusion toolbox for renewable energy projects provides concrete measures that EU countries can take to strengthen public acceptance for renewable energy installations, based on key principles and conditions for an effective participation.
It was announced in the European Grids Package of December 2025 and published on 17 July 2026. Its annex 1 contains several examples of existing good practices, in terms of policy measures.
What is meant by public acceptance?
Public acceptance refers to the willingness of a local community and other key stakeholders to accept a renewable energy project - it thereby facilitates a faster and fairer deployment of renewables.
To achieve public acceptance, public inclusion and participation are necessary, but different stakeholders or consumers living in rural or urban areas have different needs and should be addressed through different public inclusion measures.
Why public acceptance is key?
It is meant to guide EU countries when designing their public participation measures to speed up new renewable energy installations, in line with EU’s objectives for a clean energy transition and increased energy independence.
Measures to promote public acceptance
Measures to promote public acceptance through participation can be grouped based on the
- type of intervention - what the measure does
- timing of intervention - at what point of the lifecycle of the project the measure is applied
The main types of interventions can also be split in 2
- Procedural participation and trust-building measures
These measures influence how decisions are made and whether citizens feel heard.
- Financial participation and benefit-sharing measures
These measures ensure that local communities or stakeholders receive tangible value from renewable energy projects.
Principles for an effective public participation
The following 8 key principles and conditions can enable an effective public participation in renewable energy projects and strengthen acceptance at community level. The toolbox explains each of them further and in more detail
- no one-size-fits-all approach
- combination of procedural participation and benefit-sharing
- institutional support and clear governance
- meaningful and transparent participation
- the degree of inclusivity, benefit-sharing mechanism fairness and transparency
- the role of impartial intermediaries
- developer commitment as an informal and powerful enabler
- monitoring and reporting the impact
Documents
Related links
- Study on good practices in siting renewable energy installations taking into account the interactions with other public goods and annexes
- News: Commission publishes toolbox to increase public participation in renewable energy projects (17 July 2026)
- Public acceptance and stakeholder engagement in EU’s energy infrastructure
- Enabling framework for renewables