Community Energy Scotland welcomes the publication of the Local Power Plan by Great British Energy and the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
Although the plan’s commitments are significantly scaled back from the original commitments within Labour’s manifesto of a total of £1 billion per year of grants and loans the commitment of up to £1 billion investment over the course of the parliament instead in a combination of grants, loans, advice and expert help still represents the largest ever public investment in community energy in the UK.
Over past decades, communities across Scotland have shown that they have the ambition and ability to drive forward community energy projects – from hydro projects in Raasay, Penpont and Aberdeen to solar on the roofs of schools in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Wallacetown, to wind energy projects in Orkney, Huntly and a planned 43MW wind farm on the Isle of Lewis.
These projects do not just have positive environmental impacts. They also build communities’ capacity and resilience, and create income streams that can be used to build community wealth through local reinvestment and deliver programmes that address local priorities and challenges. These include: keeping valued community facilities open; creating jobs; developing affordable housing; and supporting local events and activities to create thriving and sustainable communities now and in the future. In the Outer Hebrides, for example, six community generators that own and operate wind turbines (totalling 22MW) have between them returned £20 million to local communities in the Western Isles over the past decade.
Whilst there is no breakdown within the Local Power Plan of how the £1 billion will be distributed across the four nations of the UK, the Plan includes a commitment to work with devolved governments to ensure that GBE’s approach is complementary to existing support such as the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).
Following Community Energy Scotland writing to the UK Government Energy Minister in December with concerns for the community energy sector following the results of the National Energy System Operator’s connections reform announcements, the Plan also includes recognition of the additional challenges for community energy groups in Scotland getting grid connections for their projects, and the UK Government commits to working with relevant partners to address some of the additional barriers faced by Scottish communities.
Zoë Holliday, CEO at Community Energy Scotland, said: “We welcome the Local Power Plan as a public pledge by the UK Government and Great British Energy to support and invest in community owned energy, recognising the unparalleled social and economic benefits that it brings.
“For too long, profits of clean energy have flown straight out of communities, while many of the communities in the shadow of the largest renewables projects face the highest energy bills and the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country. Community ownership of energy can reverse this trend and create jobs, community wealth and cohesion.
“Support for community energy is support for sustainable and resilient communities, now and in the future. We look forward to working with Great British Energy, the UK Government and Scottish Government to support the Local Power Plan’s vision for every community to have the opportunity to take forward a local energy project.”
