DOE Office of Community Engagement’s Post

Growth in the Community Energy sector! A Local Power Plan was announced in The Labour Party's #manifesto yesterday (https://lnkd.in/eS5dviMY), with £600m of grants per year for Local Authorities, massively expanding investment in community-led, community-benefiting clean energy projects. Decentralised and communal energy systems will bring greater resilience to communities, keeping the value within the communities and enabling a more just and fair transition to a clean power system. Community Energy England Community Energy Scotland Community Energy South Community Energy London

Now we're talking! 💚 Having supported community energy clients for over a decade and fully believing in this vital approach to clean energy roll-out, this is music to my ears. What our clients and the community energy sector as a whole has achieved to date is astounding, especially when you consider that the policy backdrop for the past 10 years has been pretty tough, thanks to successive Conservative governments. Now, Labour’s moving forward with a ground-breaking Local Power Plan that is offering up to £400m a year in low-interest loans for community energy and £600m a year in grants to local authorities “to build clean power in cities, towns and villages across Britain to boost national energy security and cut energy bills, as we turbocharge our mission for clean power by 2030.” At If Not Now, we are buzzing ⚡ for what the coming years will bring to this sector. Let's GO ✊ 💚 #cleanenergy #communityenergy #localpowerplan

Technologies available today enable electricity supply to be a viable local business. Local electric service can support today's goals for clean energy, climate resilience and energy justice in ways the top-heavy centralized 20th century system cannot. There are real-life examples where it's happening. The task at hand is to break the spell of energy policy makers and pundits who use clever misdirection (like the ubiquitous, bogus "cost-shift" lament) to preserve the legacy incumbent monopolies. The path this old guard is paving would drive customers with money to defect from an excessively costly under-performing system, leaving everyone else to pay the bill for energy vulnerability. Let's look at where they're building the local energy future and proliferate these models everywhere.

And following on from my last post - how about this for policy and investment support? Imagine a smaller scale version of this in AoNZ, coupled with a network of nationally-supported, locally-led Energy Hubs, Local Energy Planning, RETA and Community Energy Activator programmes, to shift the dial on decarbonisation @ lowest cost, regional/community economic development and climate resilience… #communityenergy #regionaleconomicdevelopment #regionaldeals #localism #energytransition #localenergysystems #energyhub #communityenergyactivator #DSO

Community Energy Scotland, Community Land Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland, Scottish Communities Finance and Scottish Community Alliance have produced three further supporting documents following on from their call to action for a Fair Energy Deal for Scottish Communities. https://lnkd.in/eghtdfvm The three documents comprise: 1. A Proposal for a National Community Wealth Fund, which would utilise a combination of community benefit funds from renewables and transmission, as well as dormant assets, to create a transformative fund for community wealth building opportunities. https://lnkd.in/ej382z7i 2. A proposal for a 1000MW Community Energy target separate to the Local and Community Energy target, which outlines the policy changes we need to deliver this target. https://lnkd.in/eu73uzst 3. A supporting set of community energy case studies that demonstrate the impact that community energy already has in communities across Scotland, which Is why we need to ensure that such opportunities are available to other communities across Scotland. https://lnkd.in/e9geV-rX #FairEnergyDeal #CommunityEnergy #CommunityWealthBuilding

Great new #grant scheme in #Wales to help address the #fuelpoverty due to high #energyprices. In Wales the data shows that 614,000 households are in fuel poverty, of those 115,000 are in "severe" fuel poverty. So for families with household incomes under £31K help is on the way to those who live in rural and remote areas that are off the grid for gas supply, to have new #lowcarbon heating systems installed. For all my RICS Surveyor connections and Architects too, this is a great opportunity to help Clients to access free funding for this part of the retrofit programme of works on their homes. https://lnkd.in/e869yhwt

Greener Homes will begin to close to new participants within the next 2 weeks (Enbridge HER+ today). For "national portal participants" (including MB, SK, AB, and BC) homeowners with AP numbers will have funds allocated. No urgency on booking evaluations, completing work. Yes urgency to registration. #greenerhomes #energuide #climateleaderahip #lowcarboneconomy #justtransition #netzero2050

Great news for Marten Falls First Nation!   Ontario recently announced that they will be partnering with Webequie, Nibinamik, Neskantaga, Eabametoong, and Marten Falls First Nations to advance clean energy, ending reliance on costly diesel-powered electricity. Premier Doug Ford stated, “By working in partnership and putting First Nations’ input and interests first, we can help these communities create jobs, own and build infrastructure and housing and support long-term economic growth.” Read the full article to learn more. #MartenFallsAccessRoad #MartenFallsRoad #MFCARProject #MartenFallsFirstNation #MFFN #CommunityAccessRoad #OntarioProjects #northernontario #Indigenousknowledge #IndigenousCommunities #IndigenousRights #FirstNations #winterroad

In the U.S., we have seen increasing interest in using community benefits programs for clean energy infrastructure to mitigate project impacts and increase community support. The programs can vary in structure but oftentimes developers agree to provide benefits like grants, workforce opportunities, or educational programs to the host community. While community benefits programs have the potential to create win-win scenarios for all stakeholders, they do not guarantee community support and should be meaningfully created and effectively implemented. With the federal government and several non-governmental entities publishing information and guidance on types of community benefits and project agreements, CATF has compiled a select list of resources on community benefits that can help bring clarity and context to this nuanced conversation. https://lnkd.in/eJPviGFG

Cape Town’s businesses and households have already earned over R25.8m under the City of Cape Town’s Cash for Power programme since the start of the 2022/2023 financial year. As at the 1st of February 2024, there are 1 461 sellers benefitting from the scheme. Of the 1 461 sellers, 869 are residential and 592 are commercial/industrial. During the 2022/2023 financial year, the municipality paid +R10.5m to Capetonians for their power with having already paid +R8.8m in the current financial year. The municipality is the first metro in SA to buy excess solar PV power from small-scale generators in exchange for municipal bill credits and cash. #loadshedding #municipality #capetownproperty #propertyowners #capetown #landlords #realestateinvestment #ratespayers #ratesandtaxes #eskom #propertydevelopment #solarenergy #solarpower