Local renewable energy initiatives assume a prominent role in Europe’s developing distributed energy networks in the proposed EU Renewable Energy Directive for the 2020-30 period (RED2030).The IEA, OECD, the EU Commission and national governments are increasingly aware of this role and of the importance of reducing the barriers to their - of ten innovative - development. The OECD(2012) has stressed the need to ensure positive outcomes for local people in the expansion of renewable energy, and the importance of bioenergy in this regard.