Are community schemes just small and cuddly, or can we roll out the megawatts? - 26th April 2013

I’ve been talking to the Department for Energy and Climate Change a lot about community ownership of energy. I make the case that there’s lots of potential for community energy at the mid-scale – from 5MW (that’s two or three large wind turbines) upwards. This always surprises DECC people. They think community energy is small and cuddly. So with the (more…)

Parliament shows support for mainstreaming community energy - 24th January 2013

This week, MPs got down to the tricky business of line-by-line scrutiny of the Energy Bill, to see whether it’s doing what it should. And at last, we’ve had a proper debate about whether the UK is serious about community ownership of energy. As I’ve said in previous posts, we pay lip-service to its importance, but until now, politicians have (more…)

That’s enough chocolate orange, thank you: What I’m working on this year - 8th January 2013

I’ve swept up the Christmas tree needles, packed the kids off to school and scoffed the last segment of their chocolate orange as soon as their backs were turned. And surprisingly, I find myself quite content to be back at work – I’ve had my fill of lolling by the fire. So here’s a quick note on what I’ll be (more…)

Will our MPs help to bring about a community energy revolution? - 20th December 2012

Community and co-operatively owned energy schemes get a raw deal from government at the moment. While smaller projects can benefit from feed-in tariffs, larger projects (over 5MW – that’s two or three large wind turbines) have to compete in the energy market – a market that’s designed for big commercial companies, predominantly the Big Six. The reforms the government is (more…)