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Community energy sector grows but is ‘threatened by reduced support’

Community-run energy organisations in the UK have raised £190mn worth of investment – mostly from community share issues – and are building enough generation capacity to meet electricity demand from the homes in a city the size of Cardiff, according to the Community Energy State of the Sector report from Community Energy England (CEE).


The report shows that 222 community organisations are now operating solar, micro-hydro or wind power schemes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland with a collective generation capacity of 121 MW. An additional 67 MW of community energy capacity has been developed in Scotland.


Solar power is by far the biggest energy source harvested by community energy projects in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, generating 99 MW, with wind at 21 MW and micro-hydro schemes 1.7 MW, says the report. However, while hailing the impact and ingenuity of the community energy sector, the report also warns that reduced government support is seriously threatening its future viability.


CEE says that the 222 community organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are backed by 30,000 members and over 1,700 volunteers, and have reduced carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 110,000 tonnes by generating energy from renewable sources and reducing energy use across 70 local communities. The £190mn worth of investment was raised with support from £1.9mn of initial development funding from the government.


Community Energy England Chief Executive Emma Bridge said: ‘The achievement of community energy organisations across the UK is incredible and shows how they are delivering real benefits for local communities, the wider environment and the UK energy sector too. These projects have proved that they are both innovatory and resilient in a very tough climate but the unprecedented cuts in subsidy and tax incentives present them with their biggest challenge yet.’


Tax relief schemes like the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment (SEIS) were used by 97% of electricity-generating organisations to raise the finance they needed, but recent changes have left these difficult to access, says the report. Around 12% of community energy organisations also used the Renewables Obligations Certificate (ROC) scheme, and 7% used the Renewable Heating Initiative (RHI). Support under both schemes has now been reduced. Closure of initiatives like the Urban Community Energy Fund in 2015 and Ynni’r Fro in Wales are also hitting organisations hard, says CEE.


One small-scale energy initiative, the Levenmouth Community Energy Project in Edinburgh, aims to push the boundaries of local energy by incorporating ‘green hydrogen’ to tackle three of Scotland's biggest energy challenges – low carbon transport, energy storage and low carbon heat.


As part of the project, which aims to shape the future prosperity of post-mining communities through a number of hydrogen projects, Logan Energy has designed and installed a hydrogen-based energy storage system and two mobile hydrogen vehicle refuelling units at Methil, in Fife.


The energy balancing system comprises a 250 kWe Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser, gas storage and a 100 kWe PEM fuel cell. Coupled with a smart control system, energy balancing is achieved by generating and storing hydrogen when there is excess renewable energy available. The hydrogen is then used to power the fuel cell to provide power to the private wire network at times when there is insufficient renewable energy being generated. The system will, says Logan, help to offset the intermittency of renewable energy as well as supplying hydrogen to fuel vehicles.


The mobile refuelling units are used to fuel a fleet of hydrogen hybrid vehicles which includes vans and refuse lorries. Logan Energy is to maintain the systems for the next five years, during which the performance of the different technologies will be assessed.

News Item details


Journal title: Energy World

Subjects: Energy consumption, Renewables, Solar power, Energy policy

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