Communities for Renewables

Inspiring change

We run pioneering projects that accelerate delivery

Regen SW is working with partners to establish the 'Communities for Renewables’ initiative.

In keeping with the 'localism' agenda and in response to the increasing number of enquiries from local communities in the region, in June 2010 Regen SW launched a new initiative to support and bring together communities in the south west interested in developing renewable energy projects.

This initiative is an innovative approach to community energy, which focuses on helping communities interested in driving forward their own commercially viable renewable energy projects, to provide revenue streams to finance their own local low-carbon investments.

In the south west of England, harnessing the abundant wind resources is the obvious big opportunity for local communities, as they hold the key to developing locally appropriate and acceptable schemes. Depending on a local community's circumstances, and the government's decision on the financial support mechanisms - the Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive, other technologies may also prove viable options under the Communities for Renewables initiative.

Background to the project

Communities are increasingly interested in the benefits and opportunities that harnessing their local renewable energy resources can offer. The introduction of the Feed in Tariff has dramatically improved awareness and the economics of small-scale renewable electricity generation technologies. In addition, communities are beginning to realise the significant potential revenue streams that larger projects eligible for Renewables Obligation Certificates could offer.

Wind energy is the most abundant resource of the south west and currently the most profitable. This means that under the right business model, revenue streams generated from harnessing this abundant resource could provide communities with the finance to deliver their low-carbon ambitions. These ambitions could range from installing energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in homes and community facilities, to securing low-carbon services such as broadband or retaining local services currently under threat from funding cuts.

Regen SW is therefore developing a new approach to harnessing our wind energy resources, which aims to ensure that local communities drive and benefit from local projects, that in turn can help them finance their own local low carbon ambitions.

Next steps

The aim of Communities for Renewables is to draw funding into local communities that want to set up sustainable renewable energy projects, and to use the community support network to help provide communities with guidance through the development process.

Regen SW is working with partners to provide the information and support tools required to assist communities in their journey towards harnessing their local wind and other renewable energy resources.

COMING SOON is a new online tool to help communities identify their local opportunities. For more information click here to contact Josie Ashe.

Regen SW is also working with partners to develop an innovative business model which will help to ensure that local communities can drive their own projects forward and secure a fair share of the schemes' profits.

Our aim is to help ensure that local communities are vibrant and sustainable and can retain as much of the investment in sustainable energy as possible locally.

Current activities

We are asking communities to come forward to help us demonstrate that the drive and ambition exist within communities. Communities can register interest in renewables through our website.

There is a need for funding and support to achieve local community ambitions. With the information gained from the community register we are actively seeking funding and investment in Communities for Renewables.

We are working with partners to develop a strong legacy framework, offering a solution to what would otherwise be a slow and disparate response to localism from the community energy sector.

Communities for Renewables essentially reverses the current development models for renewable energy developments and traditional community approaches to energy projects. It puts the communities in the driving seat, utilises their expert local knowledge to help to find the best sites and obtain local support for the developments. It uses industry experts to help to deliver community aspirations, rather than pursue their own goals. It also helps communities to develop flagship projects which will generate enthusiasm and financial momentum within the community, to enable further community initiatives that help establish a local economy that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

Anyone interested in finding out how they could support this initiative should contact Cheryl Hiles, director of sustainable energy delivery. Click here to email Cheryl.

How to get involved

To achieve our aim of supporting the delivery of community renewable energy projects through the ‘Communities for Renewables’ initiative, we need to continue to collect information about communities interested in developing renewable energy projects. This information will be used through the life of the ‘Communities for Renewables’ initiative to:

demonstrate to potential funders the level of interest in renewable energy from communities
inform communities about opportunities to access support, services and funding
identify potential opportunities for communities and professionals to work together to deliver solutions for low carbon communities

What to do if you are a community

You can learn more about registering your community here.

What do it you are a local authority or other potential partner

If you are a local authority interested in working with Regen SW on this initiative, please join Regen SW's membership and highlight your interest in Communities for Renewables. For more information about local authotiy membership please contact Hazel Williams. Click here to email Hazel.

If you are working with communities please can you pass on information about this initiative – communities can learn more about registering here. To receive information about the progress of this initiative please click here to email us your details.

If you are interested in forming a partnership with Regen SW to support the communities through the Communities for Renewable initiative please email us by clicking here.

Communities who register their interest will be contacted with further information when the support phase of the initiative is launched. For any more information, or if you wish to ask any questions, please click here to email Communities for Renewables.