Community Energy Scotland, Community Energy England and Community Energy Wales have published a new briefing note that outlines ten ways in which the UK Government could support acceleration of community shared ownership, in line with the ambitions of GB Energy set out within the Local Power Plan.
In particular, the document calls for the the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Milliband to immediately exercise the power that he already has by law to give community groups the right to buy a stake in all onshore and offshore renewable electricity projects above 5MW in size. This is called the “Community Electricity Right,” which was proposed in the 2015 Infrastructure Act, nearly a decade ago, but until now no Secretary of State has actually used this power to make offers of shared ownership mandatory.
Zoe Holliday, CEO of Community Energy Scotland, said
“The UK Government has set out very ambitious targets for community owned energy and community shared ownership in private sector projects. But learnings from Scotland and Wales over the past decade has shown that targets and guidance are not enough. The UK Government needs to act now to put the right legislation, resource and support in place to make it happen.
“The Secretary of State already has the power within the 2015 Infrastructure Act to make it mandatory for onshore and offshore renewables developers to offer a stake in their projects to community groups. Now is the time to use this power (the “Community Electricity Right”) to accelerate uptake of community shared ownership in private developments.”
