Last month, dozens of people were turned away by security outside Portcullis House in London and left shivering in the cold. This was a good thing, and I'll explain why.
The crowd, some from as far away as Scotland, Wales and the south-west of England, attended the all-party conference 'Strengthening Local Energy', organized by campaign group Power for People. It was planned. The event aimed to encourage MPs to pledge support to the sector ahead of the general election.
District energy is a little-known part of the huge energy puzzle we face today in the race to net-zero emissions. This puts people at the center of the transition to clean power. Own local renewable energy generation assets (such as solar panels and wind turbines) and use the energy produced, or both, often in tandem with efforts to reduce energy use. Masu.
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Many community energy organizations are community interest groups, where local member shareholders each get one vote regardless of the amount invested, and profits are returned to the community.
By leading renewable energy development and benefiting from low-cost clean energy, community energy gives people ownership and agency in the urgent transition away from fossil fuels.
Britain's largest onshore wind turbine, located on the outskirts of Bristol, began operation last year and is a great example of the power of local energy. Mark Pepper, co-founder of Ambition Lawrence Weston, the community group behind the turbines, said: The relationship with the climate emergency becomes stronger. ”
However, despite these advantages, too few people know about this field. According to an Ipsos Mori poll we commissioned last year, only 1% of UK adults feel familiar with the concept of community energy.
Local people in charge of energy supply – it can't be that difficult now that climate change is hindering climate change, right? The industry continues to welcome new projects, but remains challenged on several levels. I am. Many focus on restrictions on connections to the National Grid, which can be cost-prohibitive for small groups.
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Small local organizations also often struggle to raise investment capital, especially in the early stages of new project development, and many end up struggling to get off the ground. Local electricity supply is also in the spotlight with the Power for People campaign for local electricity tariffs.
The proposed legislation seeks to provide a framework that will make it much easier for small energy producers to sell directly to local residents and receive stable rates for their energy sales.