In the UK, awareness of climate change and its relation to energy supply is at an all-time high. The current technological and legislative context offers significant financial incentives for the expansion of renewable energy systems. This has created an attractive environment for shared investment in and ownership of renewable energy technologies.
Renewable energy projects owned by communities contribute to reducing emissions, cutting energy bills while bringing people together . In Germany over 500 energy co-operatives are in operation delivering affordable, green energy to communities, fuelling over $1 billion investment in renewable energy sources since 2009.
The Guardian reported, last month, on two community financed projects in the UK â€" a hydro project in Oxford and a wind turbine in Devon. Both schemes offer investors an annual return of about 4% on their investment. The surplus revenue is available to finance local schemes to reduce fuel poverty and meet other energy priorities within the community.
In April 2013 ManagEnergy reported on a new revolving loan fund for community renewable energy projects launched by Cornwall Council (UK). The loan fund, worth over $1.5 million, is aimed at community groups to help build renewable energy installations in their local area. At the heart of this model is the principle that the benefits of energy should be localised, and that strong links between communities and energy should be forged to increase awareness and encourage community benefit through the way that agreements are structured. As such, only projects that could evidence strong community benefit were accepted. The Council’s Green Cornwall Programme has made a loan facility available to The Low Carbon Society (TLCS), who is working in partnership with Kabin and Community Energy Plus. This is the first loan facility of its kind for a local authority in the UK.
Two projects have applied for the revolving loan fund, former ManagEnergy runner up Community Power Cornwall (CPC) and Helford Energy Society (HES). The first application comprises of three projects while the second is a stand-alone project. Cornwall Council intends to launch another round of funding soon.
The first applicant Community Power Cornwall (CPC) is a co-operative that enables local communities to own and benefit from renewable technologies. All revenue generated will be reinvested locally. The common ownership model created by CPC contributes to a diverse, sustainable and secure energy supply infrastructure, under community control and for community benefit.
In 2012 Community Power Cornwall was shortlisted for the ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award from the European Union. The co-operative was one of only three innovative finalists out of a record 64 submissions from 23 countries.
Helford Energy Society (HES), the second applicant, is a community energy co-operative that was established to benefit people around the Helford river area.
This project will be the first installation for this society. It will secure an income to develop further sites for renewable energy directed by local people. HES is working with Fal Energy Partnership (FEP), Kabin and R-ECO.
These cooperative projects offer inspiration to other communities that share similar characteristics to Cornwall such as rural location, not connected to a gas grid, have poorly insulated buildings and wish to reduce carbon emissions while securing their energy supply through investment in the local economy. Cornwall Council, through launching this initiative, was determined to reinforce the principle of local benefit and only applications from fully constituted Cornish based community groups were eligible. Through embedding this principle, it is hoped that communities will continue to see the benefit of renewable energy and that a less dependent relationship with energy can be fostered.
According to Josef Goeppel, German spokesman on energy collectives in Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU party, “the most successful way of letting many people participate in energy production is through community energy co-operatives. They allow the broader public to share in the profits of energy production…In addition they foster responsible energy consumption.â€
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Authored by:
Sadhbh Nà Hógáin
Sadhbh has worked in the sustainability field for a number of years. Her experience includes both practical and research work. Her research work focuses on the themes of reducing energy use in the built environment, while she has a number of years on-site practical experience from her engineering background. She is currently working on ManagEnergy, a European Commission initiative supporting ...
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