Biggest-ever ‘people power’ investment launched

The biggest-ever public community energy investment in the UK has been launched,

Great British Energy has announced £30 million funding to kick start a what it called a ‘people power’ revolution, the first downpayment on up to £1 billion of investment with the aim to support over 1,000 local and community-led clean energy projects across the UK.

They will be owned by community energy groups or local authorities to reduce bills for local services and ensure they benefit from profits from the clean power generated.

The Government said after the heatwaves and extreme weather events seen this year, the funding will also give communities a route to helping tackle climate change.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Everyone deserves a stake in our energy future and through these local power projects, communities can reap the full benefits of clean energy – reducing emissions, cutting bills and reinvesting profits to benefit local areas, instead of big energy companies.”

Meanwhile, community-owned renewable generation across National Grid Electricity Distribution’s licence areas could rise by more than six-fold over the next decade, according to new research.

Modelling by Regen said capacity could scale from a current baseline of 265 MW to as much as 1.5 GW by 2035.