Issued by: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Great British Energy, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Biggest ever public investment in community energy will cut bills and create revenue for community centres, social clubs and places of worship.

• Communities across the country to own and control their own energy with up to £1 billion of new funding for local energy projects.

• Biggest public investment in community energy in history will drive ownership revolution, putting wealth and power into the hands of communities.

• Community energy projects will cut bills and create revenue for places of worship, social clubs, community centres - supporting government’s Pride in Place agenda to revive towns and cities.

More communities across the UK will own be able to own and control their own clean energy projects, building community wealth and power through the government’s mission to take back control of the country’s energy and make people better off.

Great British Energy and government are tomorrow (10 February) publishing the Local Power Plan, backed by funding of up to £1 billion, to help support locally-owned clean energy generation projects such as solar on community buildings like libraries, leisure centres and miners’ welfare clubs.

The plan delivers the biggest public investment in community energy in this country’s history. Ownership is a transformative tool to build the wealth of local areas—giving people a stake in the places they live and generating pride, respect and local prosperity that can’t be dismantled.

Community ownership is already transforming Britain, through community owned pubs, leisure centres and libraries; in the UK’s thousands of cooperative businesses and its proud cooperative movement; and in the pioneering community energy projects from Lawrence Weston in Bristol to the Isle of Skye Cooperative in the Hebrides to Westmill in Oxfordshire to the Geraint Thomas Velodrome in Wales.

Community owned energy is the norm in other countries. In Germany, for example, around two-fifths of installed renewable energy generation capacity is citizen-owned. But despite its huge potential, for too long community energy in this country has been held back by a lack of funding, advice and central government support.

The Local Power Plan is a transformative strategy to unleash the untapped dynamism, resources and enthusiasm of our communities, backed by up to £1 billion of funding from Great British Energy to support local projects that will cut bills and grow community wealth.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

"Britain’s drive for clean energy is about answering the call for a different kind of economy that works for the many, not just the wealthy and powerful in our society. Local and community energy is at the heart of our government’s vision.

"With the biggest ever investment in community energy in Britain’s history, this government is saying to every local community: we want you to be able to own and control clean energy so the profits flow into your community not simply out to the big energy companies.

"By giving local people the chance to take control of their energy, this government is making a fundamental choice to transfer wealth and power back to communities across Britain."

Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said:

"Strong communities are the backbone of our society. When they’re thriving, we are all better for it.

"Our Pride in Place programme backs communities with the tools and funding they need so that community centres can be built for neighbours to meet, football pitches can be maintained for local teams to play, and young people can pick up hobbies and make lifelong friends.

"The Local Power Plan takes this further – empowering communities by giving them ownership of their own clean energy and keeping the wealth it generates right where it belongs."

Great British Energy CEO Dan McGrail said:

"Communities are at the heart of Great British Energy’s mission. Local and community projects create cleaner, more secure and more affordable energy for our communities.

"We are investing up to £1 billion into community and local energy projects so that people up and down the country can feel the benefit of public ownership with purpose."

The government is building clean-homegrown power at every scale - from community owned projects to major large-scale infrastructure. Last month delivered a record-breaking offshore wind auction, and tomorrow the results for new solar and onshore wind projects will be confirmed - taking back control of Britain’s energy system and putting the British people at the heart of it.

Great British Energy aims to support an initial 1,000 clean energy projects, helping to deliver clean power by 2030 while improving energy security for the whole country and protecting billpayers. The projects will be developed and led by communities or local government who best know how to deliver for their area or alternatively allow people to buy shares in nearby larger-scale renewable projects.

Research has found that community energy groups play a key role reinvesting revenues locally, and that people involved in community energy activities reported feeling a greater sense of community pride, empowerment, and cohesion. Meanwhile community-owned projects tend to support more jobs than non-locally owned projects and can boost local employment locally.

This is part of government’s plan to double the co-operative sector to support communities to thrive. It comes alongside the government’s £5 billion Pride in Place programme that, following the announcement to expand the programme last week, will see 284 communities across the UK take control of £20 million each over the next decade, to invest in local priorities like creating new green spaces and reinvigorating high streets.

Great British Energy is already kicking off this work, so far investing in:

• £5 million for new community energy projects in England - 53 projects have now been approved from solar panels on places of worship in Leicestershire, to a solar farm in Wiltshire and heritage buildings in Rotherham

• over £16 million for Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England supporting renewable energy projects from leisure centres to fire stations

• £21.5 million for community and public sector energy projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Meanwhile the company, alongside match funding from government, has invested £255 million to enable over 250 schools, around 260 NHS sites, and multiple military sites in England to increase their renewable energy and reduce their energy bills.

The Local Power Plan will help address barriers currently holding back many community energy projects – which range from financial and regulatory to lack of commercial or technical expertise.

People can express their interest in funding and advice on building clean energy projects in their town or village through Great British Energy which is becoming a “one stop shop” for local energy. This marks a more joined-up and comprehensive offer to support the delivery of community energy projects across the UK.

Great British Energy and government plan to boost community energy ownership through:

• direct funding - strategically investing up to £1 billion in community energy groups, and local authorities including via grants and loans. The schemes will launch later this year. Grants will be targeted at underserved areas or where there has historically been low take up of community energy.

• capability building - building up the capacity and skills required for the sector, acting as a co-ordinator for community energy groups and local government. Individuals will also be able to get advice from Great British Energy on setting up clean energy projects

• business model development - developing investable business models, with the community energy sector, to reduce reliance on grant funding and increase self-sustainability

• regulatory changes - consulting on whether to mandate the offer of shared ownership of clean energy projects and collaborating with the regulators on how to make it easier to share generated power locally

Great British Energy will continue working with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to complement existing support and identify new opportunities for collaboration.

GBE is also partnering with authorities in England to support renewable energy across their regions. The first partnerships are with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority, East Midlands Combined County Authority, Greater London Authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, North East Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority, West of England Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Emma Bridge, Chief Executive of Community Energy England, said:

"Community Energy England welcomes the announcement of £1 billion for local and community energy, which will unleash the sector to grow exponentially again. By harnessing the passion, expertise and money of local people, this investment will deliver community benefit, bill savings, local jobs and energy justice.

"The Local Power Plan is an important step to putting people and community energy at the heart of the energy transformation. We look forward to working closely with Great British Energy and the government on detailed investment and delivery programmes so that our members can scale this work as soon as possible."

Zoe Holliday, Chief Executive of Community Energy Scotland, said:

"We welcome the Local Power Plan’s vision for every community in the UK to have the opportunity to own an energy project. This vision will only be achieved through partnership working, and the Plan is a public pledge by GBE and UK government to work together with each other, devolved governments and all other relevant stakeholders to address existing barriers and maximise opportunities.

"Community Energy Scotland is committed to working with all of these partners and our members to ensure that communities in Scotland are in the best possible position to take forward new projects and to experience the transformational impact that energy ownership has on communities."

Leanne Wood, Co-executive Director of Community Energy Wales, said:

"It’s great to see the huge, untapped potential of Community Energy recognised in the Local Power Plan, with material commitments to make sure local people and places can lead a fair transition to a low carbon energy system across the UK."

Ben Ferguson, Co-executive Director of Community Energy Wales, said:

"Our members in Wales are ready to grow their ambition with this support from Great British Energy, welcoming and supporting new and emerging community energy enterprises to participate in the transformative benefits of community ownership of distributed and democratising energy technology."

Anne Ford, Spokesperson for Community Energy Northern Ireland, said:

"Community Energy Northern Ireland welcomes the launch of the Great British Energy Local Power Plan.

"This provides a real opportunity to build awareness of the role that groups of citizens in this region can play in shaping our energy future and bringing more community energy enterprises to fruition.

"We look forward to working with Great British Energy, to grow engagement, share knowledge and build resilience in this critical sector."

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said:

"Community energy has been at the heart of my approach to delivering cleaner, greener energy for Londoners and helping to cut bills. GB Energy’s commitment to supporting community and local energy generation through the Local Power Plan is welcome.

"From places of worship and social clubs to community centres we’ve seen how community owned and led projects help keep energy affordable and ensure the benefits are shared fairly across our city. This new support will help our city’s vibrant community energy sector continue to grow, and Londoners are ready to step up, and play a powerful role in building a cleaner, fairer and more resilient energy system for everyone."

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

"This investment puts communities at the heart of Greater Manchester’s clean energy transition. By backing locally owned renewable energy, we can cut bills, strengthen energy resilience, and keep the benefits of clean power in our neighbourhoods.

"Our partnership with Great British Energy supports our ambition to become a carbon neutral city region by 2038, and to build a fairer, greener future for our communities and businesses."

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

"Investing in clean, green energy means slashing people’s bills, powering up our communities and businesses, and boosting the number of jobs in our booming green sector.

"This new partnership builds on the strong relationship we’ve built with GB Energy, which is backing renewable energy projects across our region and helping us deliver real change for West Yorkshire.

"From improving the energy efficiency of over 5,000 social homes, to helping over 2,000 businesses green their processes and save on bills, we’re working with government to tackle the cost of living and the climate crisis head-on."

Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, said:

"The transition away from polluting fossil fuels will lower energy costs and create good local jobs: the things that matter to our residents and businesses.

"By working together with Great British Energy, we’re turning our growth ambitions into real projects that deliver for people and places across the East Midlands.

"Today, we have many active community energy groups working to develop clean energy projects, and we are well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that clean and renewable energy projects can offer."

Further quotes can be seen here: [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/community-energy-investment-to-build-community-wealth-and-power?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=5e827651-f8af-4696-9a28-7873eb07fa0d&utm_content=immediately]

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