Renewables industry paves way for government joint ownership plans

The renewable energy industry in the UK is launching a new initiative in conjunction with Energy Secretary Edward Davey. The aim of the initiative is to support opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects in local communities. Examples of these include onshore wind farms, hydro and solar power.

A voluntary agreement on shared ownership has been established. The Shared Ownership Taskforce, led by RenewableUK has published its report to the Secretary of State dealing with how the objectives would be met.

One aspect is for developers working on new schemes to consult with the local community on the prospects they have for community investment and ownership. Ownership proportions will vary from 5-25%. There will also be a number of forms to accommodate individual needs such as joint venture, split ownership, shared revenue or the holding of debentures/bonds.

Consultation will take place in the very early development stages, alongside planning consultation. Investment will come much later on once the prospect of the development is confirmed to reduce risk to the investors.

Davey said:

“Community energy is revolutionising renewable energy development in the UK, and shared ownership will offer people the opportunity to buy in to the green energy that their own communities are producing. By giving communities the opportunity to buy in and benefit from renewable energy developments in their area, they can play their part in generating power at a local level which could supply enough electricity for 1 million homes by 2020."

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive and Chair of the Shared Ownership Taskforce, Maria McCaffery said: “The report we’ve published today shows how the renewable energy sector and communities can work together to ensure that local people have a real and valuable stake in the projects we’re bringing to fruition in partnership with them. We’re democratising the benefits of the renewable energy revolution even further, giving people a stake in generating clean electricity at grass roots level. It’s clear that local authorities will look more favourably on projects where local people are fully engaged and wholeheartedly supportive.” The Vice Chair of the Taskforce and an Associate of Pure Leapfrog and Co-operatives UK Rebecca Willis added: “We know from our experience at grass roots level that there’s a substantial appetite among local communities to invest in renewable energy – and that’s increasing as people become more aware of the pressing need to do their bit to tackle climate change, and to generate a secure supply of electricity from clean, local sources. The community sector is pleased to back this agreement, which gives community groups the chance to work with commercial developers and increase the deployment of renewable energy, as it’s important to generate a secure supply of electricity from clean, local sources”.