Community Energy Scotland welcomes new laws that give local people a real stake in the renewable energy built on their doorstep.
Community Energy Scotland has welcomed the UK Energy Independence Bill, introduced to parliament today, as truly transformational and a step change in how much communities across the country stand to share in the wealth of the transition to green energy.[i]
The Bill would enable the government to require renewable energy developers to offer local communities up to 20% ownership of any new project over 1MW.
This approach follows a well-established approach taken elsewhere in Europe. In Denmark, a similar Act introduced fifteen years ago obliged developers of new wind projects to offer at least 20% local ownership. Now more than half of Denmark’s installed wind capacity is estimated to be community or citizen owned.
A recent report by the Centre for Local Economies showed that from onshore wind in Scotland alone, if 20% shared ownership was required it could generate around £165m per year to be reinvested into local communities.[ii]
The new Bill also allows the government to introduce a legal requirement for onshore wind and solar farm developers to pay a minimum level of community benefits contributions to communities close to new renewable energy projects – a practice that until now has been voluntary, leading to significant variation across the country.
Reacting to the introduction of the Bill, Community Energy Scotland’s CEO Zoe Holliday said:
“The transformational impact that mandatory shared ownership of renewable energy could have on communities across Scotland cannot be understated. With this in place Scottish communities could be set to benefit from the renewable energy projects on their doorstep, receiving their share of hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
“But this legislation is not just about money. It is about justice – communities having a genuine stake and say in the renewable energy projects that they can see from their windows. It is about empowerment – communities in every corner of Scotland being able to tackle their own priorities, whether they be reducing fuel bills, investing in local services and hubs or creating new jobs. And it is about creating resilient, sustainable communities long into the future.”
While pleased to see the good news, Community Energy Scotland will spend the coming days studying the detail in the rest of the document and working with partners to identify areas for improvement in the Bill before it is enacted.
This will include expanding the powers to introduce mandatory community benefits beyond onshore wind and solar projects to all onshore and offshore renewable energy projects.
[i] Energy Independence Bill: factsheets – GOV.UK
[ii] Blown Away: following the money in Scotland’s onshore wind sector – Community Energy Scotland
