Since the election in July we have been advocating to ministers and civil servants for a seamless transition from the Community Energy Fund to the Local Power Plan that enables continued growth.
On Friday, the government announced £5m of new funding for the Community Energy Fund (CEF), now rebranded as the Great British Energy Community Fund. The CEF had been due to expire this month, so an extension of funding is welcome. However, we are disappointed by the small amount allocated (see our news piece for more).
Over 100 projects were awarded development funding under the CEF but have stalled due to lack of actual funds. The new funding is not likely to stretch much beyond supporting these projects, which have already had applications accepted. If you run one of these projects, we encourage you to get in touch with your Net Zero Hub who administer the fund (they have also been awarded an additional £7.8m).
CEE has written to ministers and officials at DESNZ and GB Energy calling for additional funding to be released as soon as possible to avoid stalling growth for the sector. We are working closely with partners to coordinate campaigning and translate these messages into concrete action. We will keep our members updated with details on this workstream over the coming weeks. Please add your voice by writing to your MP now.
Local supply
Energy Local has produced a briefing, endorsed by CEE and available here, on the “Elexon P441 modification”, a regulatory change that could put local energy trading on a more secure footing enabling organisations to sell cheaper local power and balance supply and demand locally to reduce the pressure on the grid. This is a vital first step towards ‘local supply’. We need the minister to send a strong message to Ofgem that this needs to happen.
Please write to your MP about the above
Please write to your MP using our MP letter template to ask them to urge the Secretary of State to support the Community Energy Fund with more money, to back P441 and enable priority access to grid connections for projects that deliver more social and community benefits.