Technologies & business models
Since the end of the Feed-in Tariff and government subsidises, there has been a huge expansion in the diversity of project pursued by the community energy sector. Our State of the Sector reports over the past few years have found:
- Electricity generation continues to dominate in volume of projects developed, with
- 88% new capacity in 2020-2021 being solar PV (SOTS, 2021)
- During the pandemic, there was a shift in focus - with a 38% increase in the delivery of energy saving and efficiency projects (SOTS 2022)
- Project diversity is also growing, with CEE creating specific pages to help groups with ever more project options
Dedicated CEE pages on different technologies:
- Electricity generation (solar, wind, hydro) - dedicated CEE page here
- Efficiency (energy advice, fuel poverty and retrofit services) - dedicated CEE page here
- Heat generation (heat pumps, biomass) - dedicated CEE page here
- Demand side management - dedicated CEE pages inc. flexibility and DM through data services
- Energy storage - in development
- Local supply - in development
- Low Carbon Transport - in development
In addition to these pages, other key resources include:
- The [NEW] National Map resource - created by CEE and our partners at the Net Zero Hubs, this is the most comprehensive dataset on community energy projects established nationally to date. See the latest projects and what is working well in your area.
- Next Generation's Innovation programme - providing updates and a "Green, Yellow, Red Traffic Light" summary of best community energy opportunities here.
- Local Energy Scotland - CARES Toolkit gives advice on technology options.
- Centre for Sustainable Energy- Resource Bank on technology types and options.