New report proposes revolution in way we power our lives

Five measures to enable a revolution in how we power our lives have been set out in a new report, published 9 December 2011 by renewable energy experts Regen. The report shows how government could enable communities to generate their own energy rather than being reliant on centralised utilities.

The report “The Big Society and Renewables: Five Measures for Delivery” was written by leading expert Jonathan Johns from ClimateChangeMatters. It sets out five steps the government could take to enable community groups to raise investment for energy projects such as anaerobic digestion, biomass boilers, wind energy as well as solar PV - and generate secure energy and income for their communities.

Merlin Hyman, Regen chief executive, said “We are seeing huge interest in communities generating their own energy – and retaining the income locally. This movement has the potential to revolutionise the way we generate and use energy - but it needs government backing.”

Jonathan Johns said “Community energy schemes have important potential benefits. Government has put in place some helpful support, now it needs to build on this. These measures don’t need huge taxpayer support, but could generate 4,000 jobs and £1 billion of investment. It’s not unrealistic given the size of the market for that to rise to £10 billion and 40,000 jobs in 10 years. These are sustainable measures for leaner times.”
The report’s five proposed measures are:

1. Exemption from the 20 per cent deduction in Feed-in Tariff for community multiple site energy schemes.
2. Creation of a small FIT tariff for community schemes between 5 and 10 MW.
3. Allocation of 10 per cent of Green Investment Bank support for community renewables and energy efficiency schemes.
4. Simplification of private wires regulations and facilitation of remote net metering to join projects with communities so that the retail cost of own generated power is saved (less transmission costs), thus retaining a greater proportion of the financial benefit of own generation.
5. Creation of a new instrument, the community issued tax-exempt mutual bond, to facilitate flow of £1 billion capital to the sector at minimal cost , and no recourse to the state, taking advantage of latent investor demand. At a 5 per cent coupon the cost would be £20m per annum or £50,000 per job assuming a 10 year loan life.