Government reminded of the important of local energy schemes

Regen, the net-zero focussed not-for-profit organisation, has written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, to emphasise the significance of locally-driven energy projects in delivering clean power for the UK by 2030.

The letter, co-signed by UK100, the Local Government Association, the Welsh Local Government Association and the Consortium of Local Authorities in Wales, asks that local and community energy be kept ‘on the same agenda as the bigger projects that will be the focus of the Clean Power Plan.’

Regen has been working with local authorities and community organisations involved in Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme to understand the value of local and community energy, and present a vision for a thriving local energy landscape in the latest thought leadership paper, the Power of Places.

The Government’s Local Power Plan aims to generate 8GW of power through small and medium-sized local and community-owned renewable energy projects.

While welcoming the commitment, Regen are keen to emphasise that, as Fraser Stewart, their Just Transition lead wrote last month, ‘realising the value of local energy at scale doesn’t just mean funding new generation projects, important as that is. It means better enabling ‘local’ across the energy system, which has been built for ‘big stuff’.

The letter reads:

Dear Secretary of State,

We are writing as a coalition of local government organisations and supporting stakeholders to ask for the role of local and community energy to be set out in the government’s forthcoming Clean Power 2030 plan.

We warmly welcome the Clean Power plan to accelerate the decarbonisation of our energy system. Alongside this, the government has committed to deliver 8GW of local and community energy through Great British Energy and the Local Power Plan. We believe it is important that the Local Power Plan targets are aligned and in-step with the Clean Power 2030 plan.

Local and community energy can provide people with a direct stake in their energy futures and enable local government to shape local energy systems to meet the unique needs of their places. By engaging communities in the energy transition, we can build stronger public support for the development of clean energy infrastructure – a critical part of achieving the wider net zero goals.

Unlocking 8GW of local and community energy would have a galvanising effect across the UK’s cities and regions. Already, local authorities across the UK are producing plans for developing energy infrastructure, enabling warm and low carbon homes and linking this vital transition to local economic development.

The Clean Power 2030 plan will set out what is ‘needed’ when it comes to the technologies, capacity, location and infrastructure to deliver the 2030 targets. By setting out the role of local and community energy within the Clean Power plan, government could unlock local energy ambitions. In particular, it is important that local and community energy projects can access grid capacity as part of the connections reform process.

The letter also includes examples of successful and locally valuable  energy projects from across the UK, including the Energy Superhub in Oxford, Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative and Dorset Community Energy.