A community which can produce its own energy literally has power in its own hands! More than 270 communities across the UK are generating power. Transition Towns have spearheaded several, like.
Should the government help local communities generate their own energy?
A recent poll by Co-op Energy found that a record high of 82% of respondents think the government should do more to help local communities generate their own energy, and 69% think the government should offer tax relief to those individuals who take the risk of investing in community energy.
What is a local energy community?
Local energy communities, or community-based energy projects, are showing clear benefits across the globe in deploying renewable technologies, improving efficiency, supporting reliable power supply, reducing bills, and generating local jobs.
How can community-based energy communities help tackle the energy crisis?
With ever growing pressure to accelerate decarbonisation and to mitigate impacts of the energy crisis on households and businesses, community-based energy communities can help address numerous challenges faced by power systems, including losses, grid congestion and the need to accommodate growing peak demand.
How can cities benefit from aggregating power?
Cities can take advantage of their purchasing and aggregating power to host bulk purchasing programmes for clean energy equipment. Here, the city negotiates a lower price with vendors of renewable energy systems (whether for solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, heat pumps, or other renewable technologies).
How does community energy continue to grow?
Community energy continues to grow, mostly by acquiring existing generating capacity (particularly large solar farms, but also large scale wind), with some new installations by existing, established organisations.
How can renewables boost local income?
Adopting renewables can therefore create employment and boost local income in both developed and developing energy markets. Employment in the sector, which reached 11 million jobs worldwide in 2018, could quadruple by 2050, while jobs in energy efficiency and system flexibility could grow by another 40 million.