‘Community Energy’ under a siege by London and Brussels

In a seminar on community energy held in Westminster last week, many agreed that the potential for ‘community energy’ in the UK is massive. Some speakers shared their experience in the rigorous battle with finance and planning regulations at the start-up stage of their community-owned energy schemes. Following on from such discussions, we could also ask to what extent ‘community energy’ can be financed in the existing framework set by the commission in Brussels, which has been leading our ‘greenest ever’ government in London by the nose. 

Financing ‘Community Energy’: Why do legal structures and a green bank matter?

Amid the threats of soaring energy prices and global climate change, it gives us every reason to go ahead with ‘Energy Localism’ – community sustainable energy projects – which can stimulate local green growth and motivate a ‘Big Society’. Unless you are lucky enough to have a hidden goldmine in your community, it is often the financiers, not any business angels, who can give an energy project the green light. A legal structure or company model often carries too many implications.