Identification of the Barriers and Key Success Factors for Renewable Energy Public-Private Partnership Projects: A Continental Analysis

Abstract

The global energy demand has been increasing and posing multiple challenges across the globe, including global warming, environmental pollution, and energy-sustainability issues. Thus, multiple countries have been adopting renewable-energy (RE) sources to provide clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Previously, a number of renewable energy projects has been delivered in the form of a public–private partnership (PPP) to take advantage of the private sector’s investment, technology advancements, and expertise. In general, renewable-energy projects are considered large-scale universal projects that involve expertise from different countries and require a clear understanding of the barriers and key success factors (KSFs) across the globe. Thus, this paper focuses on providing a comprehensive understanding of the main barriers and success factors of renewable-energy projects across the globe. For that aim, a comprehensive literature review was first carried out to identify and report on the barriers and KSFs of renewable-energy projects. This was followed by a questionnaire survey wherein the opinions of 60 experts with wide experience in RE PPPs in multiple countries were collected and analyzed. The analysis shows that political and regulatory barriers are the main risks globally. Additionally, well-prepared contract documentations and skilled and efficient parties are the KSFs. However, these factors change from one continent to another. Additionally, this paper sheds light on the difference between the public and private sectors’ perceptions on the severity of the risks and the importance of the KSFs to each sector.