Regen has delivered the Community Energy England, Scotland, and Wales State of the Sector reports to understand and showcase the current state of the community energy sector, and identify evidence-based areas for growth and opportunity.
Project duration: February 2021 – June 2021
In June 2021 Regen delivered the Community Energy England, Scotland, and Wales State of the Sector reports. These reports were produced using data collected from surveying over 260 community energy organisations nationally.
The goal of this research was to understand and showcase the current state of the community energy sector, identify evidence-based areas for growth and opportunity and provide an accessible dataset to those interested in the community energy sector.
Our analysis showed the slowdown in deployment of new renewable energy generation projects, in line with a sector wide decrease due to removal of government support and subsidies, but an increase in the number of new community energy organisations. This shows the determination and persistence of communities who want to take direct local action to tackle climate change. The reports highlight the ambition to widen the scope of community energy, to include low carbon transport and innovation projects for local supply, and to use community energy as a mechanism for a green economic recovery that delivers local social and environmental impact.
We’ll be continuing to work with Community Energy England, Scotland, and Wales to highlight the potential of community energy, given the right support, for local economic resilience and job creation.
To read the reports click here.
Regen is working with Devon County Council to set up a Devon renewable electricity tariff that supports local, preferably community owned, generation.
Project duration: June 2020 to present
Regen has been working with local authorities, community groups and licensed suppliers for many years to explore different approaches to local supply. The main problem we always come up against is that, despite it making sense to balance generation and demand locally, there are no financial benefits from doing so within current regulations (unless you have a private wire network).
Plus, without widespread rollout of smart meters and half hourly settlement of domestic and small commercial customer bills, there is no incentive for customers to shift their demand to times of high local generation through smart tariffs.
But instead of waiting for the situation to change, we are working with Devon County Council and a number of licensed suppliers to set up a simple, flat rate tariff that is a fraction higher than the going rate and enables them to buy their equivalent annual consumption from local generators. We are also looking for a supplier that is willing to contribute a little extra to the pot in return for help recruiting (hopefully) lots of ‘sticky’ customers.
The ultimate goal is for the supplier to be able to offer new community owned generation projects a higher power purchase agreement (PPA) that enables them to be built, when they otherwise would not have been able to.
This is the briefing that we shared with licensed suppliers to stimulate conversations about what is and isn’t possible. The briefing sets out what we wanted the tariff to achieve and the potential role of the supplier.
Devon Renewable Electricity Tariff Briefing
Project duration: Ongoing
The Borderlands Partnership, a partnership of local authorities and stakeholders, brings together five cross-border local authorities of Carlisle, Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland and Scottish Borders to promote the economic growth of the area. The partnership has contracted a consortium to develop an energy strategy for the region that will:
Regen will be modelling the region’s energy system to develop pathways towards the region achieving net zero decarbonisation. An interconnected thematic modelling approach will be taken, with domestic, commercial and industrial, transport, electricity generation, energy efficiency, and smart and flexibility sector pathways modelled and reported on. In addition, Regen will be collating spatial information on energy modelling factors, for example building energy efficiency data, energy generation projects and resource opportunities. This spatial information will support future local area energy plans.
An example of the modelling approach and variables is below:
The project started in Q1 2021 and will be completed in Q3 2021.
Regen has been working with SP Energy Networks (SPEN) to understand the impacts of recent and proposed changes to how much we pay for our distribution and transmission network on customers, on Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and on decarbonisation.
A detailed analysis was undertaken including modelling of network charge options and interviews with both stakeholders and SPEN’s connections team. This analysis has been summarised into a short report which can be viewed here.
The results of the analysis were presented around four key themes that were expected to have the most significant implications for both SPEN and their network customers:
The report concludes that the proposed changes are mixed for decarbonisation and that the final impact will vary across the country and depend on how the methodologies are developed and applied. However, it is likely that it will require all DNOs to further invest in physical assets, network monitoring as well as processes and capability to support net zero, new connections and flexibility.
Read a summary of the report’s key findings in our blog here, written by Poppy Maltby (head of cities and regions).
From November 2020 to February 2021, Regen worked with Bristol City Council, supported by MCS Charitable Foundation, to produce a feasibility assessment exploring the concept of a Sleeving Pool in order to help the local authority procure local renewable electricity.
We carried out a high-level assessment of the commercial and administrative feasibility of the concept and provided recommendations about viability and issues to consider in taking this concept forward.
This analysis involved three main elements:
These elements are detailed in the final feasibility assessment, which can be found here.
Read our blog by Poppy Maltby, head of cities and regions, here.
To find out more about this project, email pmaltby@regen.co.uk.
In July 2019, Cornwall Council approved the first iteration of a Climate Change Action Plan to help address the climate emergency, which included an action to create a Development Plan Document (DPD) on climate change to set the framework for dealing with climate change through planning and help Cornwall achieve carbon neutrality. The Council commissioned Regen to undertake industry stakeholder engagement to inform the development of the DPD policies on renewable energy.
Regen and Cornwall Council ran a first stakeholder engagement webinar in April 2020, to get views from key renewables industry and community stakeholders on what the climate emergency DPD should address regarding the need for renewable energy in Cornwall. Insight and feedback was summarised in a report by Regen to Cornwall Council as part of the consultation process, which was reviewed and informed the development of a set of draft policies for renewable energy. Following the first round of consultation, Cornwall Council published its draft policies for the DPD in August 2020.
You can read our interim report for Cornwall Council summarising feedback from stakeholders on the key areas for the DPD to address, as well as further positive policy and non-planning actions for Cornwall Council to consider here.
Regen carried out a second round of stakeholder engagement on behalf of Cornwall Council to gain feedback from industry and community stakeholders on the DPD’s draft policies on renewables, and hear what else could be included to support the deployment of renewable energy. Regen organised an online webinar that brought together key industry experts, community energy representatives and other renewable energy stakeholders.
This second round of consultation with renewable energy stakeholders helped produce a final report by Regen for Cornwall Council, with recommendations to make the draft policies more ambitious in line with the Council’s climate emergency targets. You can read the final report here.
To find out more about this project, email khoare@regen.co.uk.
Project duration: July 2020 – 2021
Since 2020, Regen has worked with Energy Networks Association (ENA) to deliver a series of online community energy forums. The forums are a dedicated space for community energy representatives from across the UK to engage with changes that are happening to our energy system and share their views and perspectives on work ENA, and others such as Ofgem, are doing to decarbonise our energy system. As a key stakeholder group, ENA recognise the need to hear thoughts of community energy stakeholders and help to ensure that changes to our networks to bring about a smart, decarbonised energy system do not exclude community energy.
In 2021, the community energy forums have focussed on timely and relevant energy sector updates for community energy organisations, with discussions on:
You can find out more about ENA’s work on shaping our future energy system, the Open Networks project and more on their website.
The ENA community energy forums are supported by Community Energy England, as well as Community Energy Wales, Local Energy Scotland and Electricity North West.
To find out more about this project, email khoare@regen.co.uk.
Project duration: June 2017 to April 2020
Regen was one of the partners on OpenLV, a network innovation trial with Western Power Distribution (WPD) which gave communities and businesses access to local electricity substation data. The project trialled an open software platform in electricity substations that monitored substation performance and electricity demand for a local area, and hosted apps that enabled participants to access this data and explore uses for it which benefited communities and the network.
The software was installed in 80 Low Voltage (LV) distribution substations across WPD’s licence areas, and could ultimately be deployed in every LV and High Voltage (HV) substation in Great Britain.
Regen worked alongside the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) to support the eight community groups involved in the trial, and evaluate how useful the local electricity data was for them. For more on how communities used the data, you can read the OpenLV guidebook for community energy organisations, ‘Using data from your local substation’, with case studies on trial participants, along with more information and resources from the project.
This video sets out some of the ways open access to local electricity substation data can help to support people in fuel poverty and vulnerable customers as we transition to a smarter, decarbonised network.
OpenLV was a Western Power Distribution project, funded by the Network Innovation Competition, and delivered by EA Technology.
To find out more about the Open LV project, contact Ky Hoare at khoare@regen.co.uk.
Project duration: March to May 2020
We helped Western Power Distribution (WPD) produce their Net Zero Communities Strategy, which sets out what they have done, and what they will do next to support community and local energy organisation. The strategy is based on feedback from WPD’s extensive engagement over the past seven years, including participatory events, innovation projects, site visits, guides, consultations, vulnerable customer support and development of website resources.
WPD are keen to continue supporting community energy organisations because they recognise the vital role that these groups play in driving the net zero transition, and ensuring the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind. They recognise that we will not be able to achieve a transition at the speed and scale necessary to meet net zero by 2050 without bringing people with us.
The action plan sets out WPD’s commitments for the year ahead, to guide their work with community and local energy organisations, including:
The strategy and action plan will be updated annually, so you can tell WPD what you think and influence their plans via the ‘Join our community energy conversation’ link on their community energy web pages, or by coming to one of our joint events.
View the report here and below:
If you are interested in finding out more about our work and how we support community energy, please contact Jodie Giles jgiles@regen.co.uk.
We run regular engagement events for communities that you can view here and we have a special rate for community energy organisations who would like to be members of Regen which can be found here.
Project duration: 2013 – present
Since 2013, Regen has worked with National Grid Electricity Distribution, formerly Western Power Distribution (WPD), on a programme of community energy engagement to help build a thriving community energy movement across the South West, South Wales and the Midlands. The programme includes online content, but is underpinned by free events aimed at community energy groups, local authorities, academics and local energy stakeholders, to facilitate networking, explore the latest developments in the sector and discuss how communities can be at the heart of a decarbonised, decentralised and democratised energy system.
Over the past seven years, we’ve delivered:
Recently, these community energy events have focused on innovation and new opportunities in flexibility, as we’ve also explored in our Power to Participate project. Our energy system is changing rapidly and with the closure of the Feed-In Tariff Scheme in 2019, we want to ensure communities are not left behind new developments and understand future opportunities from new innovations and business models. These events are valuable for NGED customers as they:
The long term and strategic nature of this engagement has led to a positive relationship between the community groups and NGED, with conversations becoming increasingly constructive and forward-looking. Read our blogs following on from the Local Energy, a Flexible Future events in summer 2019. We recently ran the next series of community engagement events with NGED – ‘Communities and the smart energy revolution’. These took place in March 2020 and slides from the events can be found here: Birmingham, Leicester, Carmarthen and Bristol.
To find out more about our work in community energy, contact Prina Sumaria at psumaria@regen.co.uk or George Middlemiss gmiddlemiss@regen.co.uk.
We have a special rate for community energy organisations who would like to be members of Regen which can be found here.
Project duration: November 2019 – January 2020
Regen worked with Electricity North West (ENWL) to produce an internal report analysing ambitious ideas for how they can better support community energy organisations in their licence area. This report will be used to enhance the business case for further specific actions that ENWL will take to help the community energy movement grow and thrive in the next RIIO price control period (2023-2028).
ENWL want to help deliver a strong and self-sustaining community energy movement in the North West, so Regen supported them to gather evidence, feedback and insight on the ideas, which had evolved from community energy engagement, and internal discussions with the ENWL team. Feedback came from a workshop of key community and local energy stakeholders and interviews with community energy representatives, supplemented by Regen’s extensive experience supporting the community energy movement over the past 8 years.
We have a total of £50,000 available for amazing new and existing community energy organisations and climate action groups in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, and Northern Lincolnshire.
This opportunity runs from 22 April to 15 July 2024, so don’t miss out on this chance to make a positive change in your community!
The fund aims to help community energy organisations start up, build capacity or explore feasibility of new energy projects.
If your group operates within Northern Powergrid’s geographical area, you could be eligible for a grant of up to £10,000! Check out the guidance document below for a list of eligible project types and regions.
You can also download a copy of the guidance here and view this year’s application questions beforehand here.
To be eligible for this fund you must meet the following requirements:
In 2022, we awarded grants to nine community groups for projects, including community-owned solar PV and energy advice services. Below we highlight two of the groups that received funding.
Amount received: £7,560
York Community Energy (YCE) is a social enterprise which aims to reduce York’s carbon emissions by both saving energy and generating community-owned renewable energy.
York Community Energy: Using new thermal imaging camera
The project aimed to integrate YCE’s retrofit and fuel poverty services under the umbrella of York Energy Advice, creating a One Stop Shop for retrofit in York. The funding was used to develop a business plan and initiate its implementation.
As part of YCE’s retrofit and fuel poverty service development, it procured a new professional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to track client interactions. It also procured a new thermal imaging camera to conduct paid thermal imaging assessments for retrofit clients (used 27 times). Clients have been positive about this service and have benefited from understanding where heat is being lost from their home.
YCE used funding for staff costs to expand York Energy Advice, receiving 74 retrofit enquiries and conducting 34 retrofit assessments. The service has been well received by clients, who whilst able and willing to pay for retrofit works on their homes, have previously lacked reliable information on the subject. A post-assessment hand-holding service and video consultation were attempted but had limited success. The Net Zero Community Energy Fund, along with other sources, allowed YCE to support 304 vulnerable households facing high energy costs.
YCE now has a more rounded and comprehensive energy/retrofit advice service for York residents. It will use its business plan and the lessons learned throughout this project to continue to grow and develop its service. It has been successful in various funding bids to keep the service running beyond this project and has forged stronger links with City of York Council, which has opened up new opportunities.
“Thanks to the funding, we have been able to purchase a thermal imaging camera to carry out heat loss surveys with, as well as provide energy advice and install energy-saving measures for people in fuel poverty.”
– Tom, York Community Energy
Amount received: £9,463
Grimsby Community Energy (GCE) is a cooperative, run by members who are dedicated to bringing community energy projects to their local area. It currently operates solar PV in multiple locations and is looking to expand.
Grimsby Community Energy: T-shirts for share offer promotion
The Net Zero Community Energy Fund supported the launch of GCE’s fourth community share offer, seeking to raise £314,000 for six installations of solar PV with a total capacity of 436kW. The funding enabled GCE to develop the share offer, launch the promotional campaign and begin processing the share offer applications. Two interns from a local college were taken on to support this work.
The funding provided the organisation with essential capacity required to undertake the administration and communication associated with the development, promotion and launch of the share offer. This included launching a multi-platform promotional campaign via social media, a launch event, networking events, radio, press, TV and leafleting.
The interns gained experience in developing and promoting a share offer, bookkeeping, processing share applications, social media communications and video creation. They are now better informed on climate change, community energy, renewables and small business administration.
Involving interns supports the continued diversification of the community energy sector, bringing in younger people and perspectives. The two interns successfully completed their placements and GCE reports that it has gained a reputation as a good provider of placements.
The activities funded by the Net Zero Community Energy fund have, to date, delivered 30 share applications totalling £165,050. When the 436kW of solar PV capacity is installed, it will save approximately 60.5 tonnes of carbon per year. Over the 25-year lifespan of the installations, the host organisations will save an estimated £300,000. The project has put GCE in a position to apply for larger and longer-term funds that will see it through 2024 and its fifth share offer.
Grimsby Community Energy: Share offer promotion material
Find out more about all of our 2022 fund awardees and their projects here.
In 2023, we awarded grants to eight community groups. They have all started their projects ranging from a hydroelectric feasibility study to creating a new Energy Local group.
We can’t wait to see the innovative projects that will be funded this year!
Apply now and let’s create a cleaner, more sustainable future together!
If you have any queries about the project, we’re here to help. Come along to one of our Community Energy Forums in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire on 3 July or the North East on 4 July 2024 to find out more or ask any questions send us an email.
To stay up to date with recent community energy news don’t forget to sign up for Regen’s Community Energy newsletter here.
