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Unlocking community energy at scale: call for evidence to new Parliamentary inquiry

11 November 2024

Community energy, a term for renewable energy projects that are community-owned and controlled, is at the heart of the government’s ambitions for clean power by 2030 and will be central to the future role of Great British Energy through the Local Power Plan.  

Community energy typically involves people collaborating with others in their local area to generate low-carbon heat and electricity, use local power, or reduce their energy usage. Community Energy England describes it as the delivery of community-led renewable energy, energy demand reduction and energy supply projects, whether wholly owned and/or controlled by communities or through a partnership with commercial or public sector partners. 

But despite strong public support and the affordability of renewables, the UK community energy sector is small and has seen little growth over recent years.   

The Committee is today launching an inquiry to consider the policy, market and regulatory reforms needed to support the growth of community energy and realise in full the sector’s potential contributions to achieving the UK’s net zero targets.

The Committee's aims  

  • Identify potential solutions to the financial and regulatory barriers facing community energy projects, including how to establish local supply.  
  • Consider the role of the Local Power Plan in supporting community energy.  
  • Assess how reforms to the planning system, grid connections and the energy market could support the growth of community energy at scale.   

The Committee invites evidence

The Committee is asking interested individuals and organisations to submit evidence on the following questions:  

  • How could the Local Power Plan to be produced by Great British Energy build upon existing community energy support schemes, such as the Community Energy Fund?  
  • How should the energy market and licensing regulations be reformed to enable community energy projects to sell the electricity that they generate to local customers, without the current barriers, and be properly remunerated for doing so? What lessons can be learnt from other jurisdictions?  
  • How could existing government support mechanisms, such as the Smart Export Guarantee, provide community energy projects with more financial certainty?  
  • What are the regulatory solutions needed to minimise the high costs and long delays incurred in securing a grid connection for community energy projects?  
  • Should the local benefits of community energy projects be formally recognised as a material consideration in planning decisions?  
  • What should be the role of Neighbourhood Plans and Local Area Energy Plans in building local support for community energy projects?   
  • What is the potential for community energy to incentivise consumer demand flexibility at the scale needed to achieve the UK’s net zero targets? 

Anyone with evidence on these questions can find out more and submit it here by Monday 13 January 2025

Further information

Image: House of Commons