Community Benefits Agreements Can Embed Justice in the Clean Energy Transition

The clean energy transition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build momentum for environmental justice.

As the transition accelerates, we face a choice: Will it reproduce the harms of the past fossil fuel-based energy system, or will it create a fairer, more just future where more people can access and benefit from accessible and affordable clean energy? For far too long, historically marginalized communities have been excluded from decisions about the challenges they face, and energy infrastructure is no exception.

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are a tool for ensuring frontline communities receive real, tangible benefits from renewable energy projects.

States that embrace policies like CBAs are showing what’s possible: a future where energy solutions uplift communities rather than burden them.

CBAs are legally binding agreements between developers and communities that outline commitments such as local job creation, workforce training, or investments in public infrastructure. In states that are leading the way, CBAs ensure that energy projects provide clean power and bring economic and social benefits to the communities most impacted. From Michigan to California, states are showing what’s possible:

• In Michigan, developers pay host communities $2,000 per megawatt of energy capacity.
• In California, enforceable agreements with grassroots organizations ensure benefits flow directly to local people.
• In Maine, wind projects deliver long-term financial contributions to communities hosting the turbines.

These policies are not just about energy infrastructure; they represent a shift in power, creating systemic change for equity, accountability, and justice, giving those communities most affected by energy development a voice along with a share of benefits. These state successes show what's possible, but to scale these benefits nationwide, we need stronger federal and state policies working in tandem—like the Justice40 Initiative.

The federal Justice40 Initiative aims to allocate 40% of federal climate and energy investment benefits to communities that have long been overburdened by pollution and underinvestment. State policies require CBAs to build on this foundation, ensuring that energy projects are designed with and for communities that have historically been excluded from decision-making.

By centering racial justice in the clean energy transition, CBAs can:

• Deliver good-paying local jobs.
• Fund schools, public health, and infrastructure.
• Empower communities to shape the projects in their backyards.

Yet CBAs are only as strong as the policies that back them. Some developers will inevitably try to exploit loopholes, sidestep accountability, or push vague agreements that deliver little. In California, legally enforceable agreements with grassroots organizations ensure that the benefits of renewable energy projects flow directly to the local communities hosting them. To advance energy justice, CBAs must be enforceable (legally binding), transparent, and community-driven, and not just another box for developers to check.

We are at a turning point. State governments have a chance to lead by mandating strong, enforceable CBAs and ensuring communities are part of the decision-making process. This isn’t just about clean energy—it’s about repairing harm, investing in people, and building a just energy future.

The clean energy transition can be more than reducing emissions—it can be a powerful pathway to justice, equity, and community empowerment. States that embrace policies like CBAs are showing what’s possible: a future where energy solutions uplift communities rather than burden them.

By centering racial justice in the clean energy transition, CBAs can deliver tangible benefits that create lasting change:

• Good-paying local jobs that boost economic opportunity.
• Funding for schools, public health, and infrastructure to address long-standing inequities.
• Empowered communities that have a say in shaping projects in their own backyards.

CBAs ensure that historically excluded communities move from being merely hosts of energy infrastructure to being active partners and beneficiaries of the clean energy revolution.