Energy Saving Trust urges the UK government to invest £3.3 billion in Local Power Plan

The Energy Saving Trust has urged the UK Government to invest the £3.3 billion pledged for the Local Power Plan to scale up community energy.

In a policy paper they outline six key outcomes to help meet the UK government’s 8GW local and community-owned energy target.  

The trust’s first recommendation is the creation of a dedicated community energy support service for all communities in England, offering guidance to simplify project development, drawing lessons from Scotland and Wales.  

The paper also calls for this service to drive capacity building and help new community energy groups professionalise.

Thirdly, they stress the need for strong financial backing, retaining the £3.3 billion Local Power Plan funding proposed in the Green Prosperity Plan. It calls for grants, low-cost loans and expert support to help communities develop investment-ready projects and deliver them successfully.

The fourth outcome calls for greater awareness of community energy, with research showing only 26% of adults in Great Britain are familiar with the practice. Energy Saving Trust is supporting calls for a national campaign to promote its benefits, including shared ownership.

The fifth outcome urges the UK government to embed community energy in its wider climate agenda, ensuring strategies like the Warm Homes Plan reflect its value, such as supporting home retrofits.

 The final recommendation calls for an enabling policy environment to address current regulatory barriers, including a targeted revenue certainty mechanism to support viable business models and prioritising community energy in the grid connection queue. 

Stew Horne

Stew Horne, group head of sector intelligence and external affairs at the Energy Saving Trust, welcomed the UK government’s recognition of community energy in its Clean Power target. He emphasised that confirming the £3.3 billion investment should be the first step towards making the plan a success, noting that it offers a key opportunity for communities to benefit directly from the net-zero transition and strengthen the UK’s energy resilience.