Community Energy event

UEA and Sussex Universities hosted a lively debate on community energy at UEA London yesterday. Speakers included Chris Church of the Low Carbon Communities Network, Rebecca Willis who has recently co-authored a guide to 'Cooperative Renewable Energy in the UK', Rufus Ford of Scottish and Southern Energy, Patrick Allcorn from DECC and Damian Tow, founder member and Director of Brighton Energy Co-operative. Among the many issues raised were:
- the importance of a sound business case for community energy
- the need to invest in skills and capacity building as well as technology
- the potential dangers in the grant system of a) over-reliance on subsidies and b) inherent bias as past winners of grants succeed time and again, and
- the need to recognise equity issues in making any grants.
The aim has to be to create a self-sustaining community energy sector, which is currently proving difficult. The complexity of the policy landscape does not help and some suggested that the community sector was treated rather patronisingly, rather than recognising the way that - collectively - it is a major player in the energy field. In the managed market for energy, a separate Community Feed in Tariff would be a good way forward, establishing the basis for community enterprises to scale up and function as businesses. Normalisation of community energy should be the ambition which many argued was within reach.