AUGUST 2018

Community Energy Conference
2018: New tech needs new rules
ENERGY
MILES HADFIELD
The transition to a low-carbon economy, new technologies and the challenges of fuel poverty and rising
demand are bringing opportunities for the community energy sector, which met in Manchester on 23
June for its annual conference. But delegates at the event – organised by Community Energy England
and Co-op Energy – stressed that a the sector needs a less hostile legislative and regulatory regime.
q Emma Bridge
from Community
Energy England
ONSHORE WIND
Max Wakefield, lead campaigner at 10:10 Climate
Action, said planning blocks in England and a
lack of public financial support amounted to a “de
facto ban” on onshore wind.
“It’s clearly not acceptable for onshore wind to
be hung out to dry in that way,” he told a break-out
session at the conference. “It is the cheapest and
the cleanest energy alternative – a key technology
if we’re going to meet our climate targets at cost.”
He said the national position was shifting on
this, with a softening in the last Conservative
manifesto, but “a small group of Tory MPs don’t
want it in England”.
With the government weakened by the loss of
its overall majority, it is in no position to force the
issue, he added, but the balance of power could
shift, as “a new intake of Tory MPs are pushing the
way forward” in favour of onshore wind.
Paul Monaghan from Co-op Energy added: “All
you need is 15-20 Tories on board ... This is a door
and this is our time to push it.”
TECHNOLOGY
At the main morning session, Emma Bridge, chief
executive of Community Energy England, said
it was important for the sector to explore new
avenues for growth – such as bringing existing
assets into community ownership and improving
the skills base through training. And there is scope
to develop “more holistic approaches” thanks to
new technology, such as battery storage.
Hector Cruz, chief financial officer at Co-op
Energy, also stressed the potential of battery
storage, which has seen huge technical advances,
allowing a 24-hour energy supply from intermittent
sources like wind.
But he said there needed to be a connections
process. “Looking at the future – down the road
20, 30 years – it won’t be the National Grid running
everything, it will be local grids,” he said. “We
need to get the investment in place but it’s easier
said than done.”
Again, regulation is an issue. Harrison Brook
from Moixa, a battery company exhibiting at the
conference, said advances in storage tech could
help community schemes offer reduced bills and
engagement in energy use. But at the moment, he
told Co-op News, the VAT system is not conducive
to the rollout of batteries. “Once these subsidies
come we have every confidence this will be
a mass-market solution,” he added.
INCLUSION
Carla Blockley, from Electricity North West – one
of the UK’s 14 distribution network operators
regulated by Ofgem – told the main morning
session that the drivers for change were the
switch to wind, solar, storage and nuclear, and the
electrification of rail, metro and road transport.
One feature of the changing energy landscape is
the untapped potential of community projects. In
a recent survey, 2% of respondents were involved
in community energy schemes but 70% were
interested in them.
“Customers can help come up with and deliver
solutions,” she said. “The system is much more
complex now. We need new sets of skills and
capabilities ... we need to work out how we will
get those skills – but it also means there is more
participation in the network. Not everybody will
have new technology like heat pumps and we
need to make sure no one is left behind.”
26 | AUGUST 2018