Beyond NIMBYism: How organised local opposition is reshaping renewable project risk

For renewable energy developers, the increasingly organised local opposition that drives planning risk can be as fundamental to bankability as securing a grid connection and locking in revenue support.   Permitting timelines, redesigns, and judicial reviews feed directly into internal rates of return. A one-year delay in notice to proceed can materially shift equity IRRs, extend construction financing and force developers to revisit leverage assumptions. Even where legal challenges ultimately fail, the time cost alone can reverberate through funding structures and investor confidence.  Local opposition to infrastructure is hardly new, and obstructive attitudes toward renewables have long been referred to as "Not in my backyard" (NIMBY) resistance. However, as developers encounter more organised, strategic, and legally literate forms of resistance, the term now feels inadequate.  inspiratia explores the new faces of planning opposition in two key clean energy markets, the UK and Italy, and how developers can anticipate and overcome these local conflicts.