Last week’s UK Co-op Congress, organised by Co-operatives UK in Birmingham, included a look at the government’s Local Power Plan, which pledges £1bn to support more than 1,000 local energy projects by 2030.
The plan sets out an ambitious vision with £1bn to support more than 1,000 local energy projects by 2030 and a goal for every community to have the opportunity to own energy assets. This session will explores the exciting opportunities this poses for co-operatives.
Fraser Stewart, head of local energy strategy at Great British Energy, said the vision is that by 2030 all communities will have the opportunity to own and benefit from local energy, with the project cutting bills and attracting more capital through share offers, social impact investors and pension fund investment.
“Community-owned energy brings in enormous social and economic benefits,” added Stewart. “We see the resentment of the costs of the energy transition; community energy brings a sense of ownership and reduces bills. It’s about economic power as well as energy.”
Driving principles are the need to quickly hit scale, with the 2030 deadline not far off; ensuring fairness with all communities regardless of income or geography able to own and benefit from community energy; innovation – redrawing, standardising and scaling the model; and the promotion of community and public ownership in all investments, “maximising value and wealth that stays in local areas”.
Priorities, said Stewart, include tackling fuel poverty, decarbonising homes, building community wealth building, and enabling community ownership which “multiplies economic value”. Partnerships with the public sector are also important, with community energy helping schools cut their energy bills.
Matthew Vickers, CEO of Community Energy England, said the project is “necessary but not sufficient” and the question is how to build on its work. “The more we act to together, the stronger the impact we have,” he added.
Related: Community energy needs support to win public backing for net zero, say MPs
Nadia Smith, director of Community Energy London (CEL), agreed that the Local Power Plan is “a massive opportunity but we’re waiting on the detail to see how much it will deliver”. London is well-placed, she added: it has a lot of buildings that would benefit from solar panels, and also has one of the highest rates of fuel poverty in Europe.
“The question is not how many projects will we deliver,” she said, “the question is how many communities will be empowered to come forward.”
Vicky Dunn, managing director at Grimsby Community Energy, said the plan would help organisations to do “smaller, more difficult, less viable projects rather than the big easier ones”, for instance by putting solar on a food bank.
“People know their communities the best,” sad Smith. “We have supported 5,000 households with fuel poverty, and saved them collectively £1m in past year.”
Initiatives by CEL include delivering energy advice in Spanish and Bengali, and hiring an advisor who can work with deaf clients. The organisation also works with with local trusted community partners, because “people with energy issues often have other connected problems” such as housing or health issues.
For the Local Power Plan, the biggest hurdles, said Stewart, are challenges with grid, along with political questions as with so many councils changing hands. And while some communities have strong community organisations to work with, there is a need to reach neighbourhoods that have not engaged yet. “But we’re confident we can get the money out the door and bring communities together,” he added. “We need to raise awareness so communities can take the first step.”
One way to reach out, said Dunn, is to offer student placements. Grimsby CE works with the local sixth form, and students work on social media, blogging and book keeping.
