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UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
‘PowerPaired’ platform aims to boost the role of community energy in the UK
A new online ‘matchmaking platform’ for community energy – PowerPaired – aims to increase the number of community-owned renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across the UK. The sector, comprising small-scale and community-driven local energy projects, has been going through hard times recently as support mechanisms have come to an end.
Led by international sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, the initiative is supported by the People’s Postcode Lottery and Friends Provident Foundation. PowerPaired aims to boost the sector at a time of changes in policy support, following feedback from community energy groups that finding a suitable site with a willing owner is one of the most frequent stumbling blocks to getting a project started.
The online platform is urging the owners of assets such as land and buildings – and community energy groups – to register on the site so that more communityowned energy projects can get off the ground. Community energy offers asset owners the chance to host renewable energy and energy saving projects at no upfront cost, potentially saving them money and improving their relationships with local communities.
National Grid is just one of the asset owners already on board, with substations listed as potentially viable sites for hosting community-owned renewables projects. Other registered asset owners include Oldham Council, Suffolk County Council, Aster Homes and St Mungo’s Charity.
Alongside matchmaking, the PowerPaired website will guide users to a range of support tools to assist them, including legal template documents provided by partner Pure Leapfrog and support from agencies such as Community Energy England and regional Energy Hubs funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Rebecca Lawson, PowerPaired Project Lead at Forum for the Future, said: ‘There are currently over 100 assets from across the country on the platform – from offices and industrial estates to schools, churches, libraries and homeless shelters. Successful projects will help communities take control of their energy, save money and tackle the climate crisis, all at the same time.’ National Grid says its support for the project is part of a wider set of activities to support communities. Nicky Conway, Sustainability Manager, said: ‘We encourage local community groups to sign up to the PowerPaired platform so we can start to explore new projects together, and asset owners to register their own sites so we can really start seeing more movement in this space.’
Community energy certainly needs a boost. The sector’s representative group, Community Energy, recently highlighted the ending of the feed-in tariff, with details of new export tariffs still being finalised, as one of the reasons why new projects were very thin on the ground in 2018 – the sector’s toughest year yet. Last year (2019) is unlikely to have been much better.
Emma Bridge, CEO of Community Energy England, said: ‘We’re seeing a lot of resilience and determination in the community energy sector. New business models are being developed and there is a need for innovation, as well as new partner organisations such as local authorities, businesses and schools. This tool developed by Forum for the Future efficiently facilitates these vital new partnerships.’
