Current drivers of Norway’s RE policy, i.e. climate change mitigation and liberalisation of the national energy market, which ends long-term supply contracts to energy-intensive firms, do not engage local communities, and may actually erode regional competitive advantages linked to the availability of cheap (hydro) energy for manufacturing activities. Higher prices for energy will generate larger rents for hydro-power owners and higher taxes and fees for municipalities and counties, but it is difficult to understand the net impact for rural communities. If RE deployment was better linked to local dynamics and if there was compensation available for possible negative impacts, this could increase public support for RE. In this report Troms County is used to identify the county and Troms0 to identify its major city and administrative capital.