مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد بشردوستانه-سرمایه گذاری جمعی-مشارکت: یک مطالعه اثبات مفهوم – الزویر 2021

Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methodology

4. Results and discussions

5. Conclusion

Declaration of competing interest

Acknowledgements

Appendix A. Total asset calculation

Appendix B. Gini index calculation

Author statement

References

Abstract

This study presents a proof-of-concept focusing on sustainable crowdfunding models for renewables as alternatives to conventional financing instruments and proposes a Philanthropic-Crowdfunding-Partnership (PCP) model. In this regard, this research investigates social welfare by evaluating the change in wealth inequality for the future time horizon by simulating conventional and the PCP financing models on solar farms in the case study of Turkey. The motivation is to find a solution for financing regional development in a holistic approach considering society and the environment to accomplish sustainable development. Furthermore, it also aims to provide insights into innovative public-private partnerships to unlock new horizons for development by incorporating citizen participation at large. The PCP model’s objective is to mobilize capital throughout the public by prioritizing individuals along with small and medium enterprises over the large corporates in fundraising for renewable energy projects, mainly solar farms. This paper provides quantitative evidence that the PCP functions as a sustainable and alternative financing model by dramatically reducing wealth inequality. Besides, the PCP holds the potential to become a self-sufficient financing mechanism for projects ranging from small ones to mega initiatives.

1. Introduction

Public investment, particularly energy investment, plays a central role in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by promoting economic growth and development [1,2]. Global energy investment was around US$ 1.8 trillion in 2018 [3], but such an amount, although it is high, is far from filling the financing gap in providing affordable and clean energy for all. There is a tremendous capital need in the energy sector, which is about US$ 1.7 trillion in 2018, and a large part of such amount should be spent on shifting towards renewables for sustainability [3,4]. Renewable energy investments have a prominent role in building sustainable cities and a more livable planet for everybody. Therefore, renewable energy infrastructure requires to expand two-and-a-half times more than the current trend to reach a 65% share by 2030 [3]. In this regard, renewables have recently gained more attention by consisting of two-thirds of power generation spending, which led to record-level investment in solar photovoltaics (PVs) in 2017 [5]. However, renewables have to be increased annually one-and-half times more than the present trend from 2015 to 2050, although rapid technological improvements decrease the investment cost for clean energy [4]. These numbers demonstrate that finding the required capital for energy investment, particularly renewables, is a challenge for public and private entities. Therefore, technological advances in clean energy should embed financial innovations and social responsibility [6].