The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that it intends to give local communities greater say when it comes to energy, both in the location of onshore wind farms and in generating and using their own energy.

Onshore wind farms

The government today (6 June) revealed plans to allow communities a greater say in the location of onshore wind farms, as well as introducing a five-fold increase in the value of community benefits paid for by developers.

This will come in the form of changes to the Community Benefit Protocol, which will see the ‘recommended community benefit package’ in England rise from £1,000 per megawatt (MW) of installed capacity per year to £5,000 per megawatt. These changes will come into effect at the end of 2013, with each benefit package lasting the lifetime of the wind farm.

DECC gives the example of a local community accepting the construction of a ‘medium-sized’ 20MW wind farm, which would then receive a benefit package of £100,000 per year, equivalent to £400 of each household’s annual energy bill.

Communities will be able to work with developers to decide how the money off should be allocated – as money off annual energy bills, to pay for energy efficiency initiatives, or to establish local training projects, for instance.

Members of the wind power industry have criticised the jump in subsidies, with Maria McCaffery, Chief Executive of trade association RenewableUK, saying that the substantial rise in payments will make “some planned wind energy developments uneconomic in England”.

She continued: "That said, we recognise the need to ensure good practice across the industry and will continue to work with government and local authorities to benefit communities right across the country which are hosting our clean energy future."

Government ‘rigging the planning system’

The government justifies the expansion of community influence, both in encouraging and blocking wind farm plans, because, it states, current planning decisions on onshore wind do not always reflect ‘a locally-led planning system’.

It states its belief that ‘the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities’, and that the new measures will place greater emphasis on ‘landscape and visual impact concerns’.

However, this move has been met with derision in some quarters, with Friends of the Earth Head of Campaigns Andrew Pendleton, asking whether this localism-based approach will be spread to other, more polluting, energy technologies.

He said: “Earlier this week the Liberal Democrat leadership helped torpedo proposals to clean up the power sector, now they're allowing the Conservative right to scupper onshore wind.

"Communities should have a say on wind farms and get direct benefits for hosting them, but rigging the planning system to allow a vocal minority to block turbines would be a disaster.

"Carbon-intensive developments such as fracking, airport expansion and new roads will also impact on local people - so is the government planning to give communities a greater say on these too?

"If the government continues to scare away green investors it will leave the economy and cash-strapped households hooked on dirty and increasingly costly fossil fuel for decades", he added.

The government is set to outline how it will encourage community ownership of and investment in wind projects in its Community Energy Strategy (CES), to be released in autumn 2013.

Community Energy Strategy

The CES is currently in its consultation phase, with the government seeking the views of local communities on how they can ‘take charge of managing and generating their own energy’.

It follows a pledge in the Coalition Agreement encouraging such community-ownership schemes.

DECC states that the initiative comes as research from Databuild Research and Solutions suggests that the primary concern for people who get involved in community energy projects is the cost of energy. Environmental protection and fuel poverty were also found to be important factors.

This is alongside a study published today by DECC and consumer group Consumer Futures. Key findings of the research are:

• ‘local champions’ can play an important role in launching community energy projects and maintaining their momentum;
• the success of such projects depends on a combination of several factors, including available investment and relevant local skills; and
• community schemes face potential barriers, such as access to funding and support from local residents.

Launching the call for evidence at the Repowering London project in Brixton today (6 June), Energy Secretary Edward Davey said: “Community groups know their local area best, so I want to see them taking control of their own energy projects, generating their own power and shielding themselves against the rising cost of wholesale energy prices.

“This type of collective action has great benefits for local economies, creating jobs, offering the opportunity to develop new skills and injecting investment across the country.

“That’s why we set out a clear commitment to supporting community energy in the Coalition Agreement. Later this year we will publish a Community Energy Strategy, setting out our vision, and a clear plan of action for making it happen.”

Similarly, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker stated: “People in villages, towns and cities across the nation are already seeing the real benefits that investing in their own clean green local energy generation can bring.

“But I want to see even more communities taking local power production into their own hands, bringing communities together.

“I would encourage everyone with an interest in this area, from community organisations and local councils to project financiers and energy suppliers to send us their views so we can help make decentralised community energy a reality for many more people.”

Views on the CES should be submitted online by 1 August 2013.