Unlocking community energy at scale

Status / emerging findings

• No single organisation claims responsibility for delivering the 8 GW target: Great British Energy targets 1,000 communities (not megawatts), Ofgem denies ownership, Elexon focuses only on rule clarity
• Community energy represents 1% of UK wind capacity versus 50% in Denmark—gap is policy, not technology; grid connection costs (£2.5m security deposits) and lengthy transmission assessments disproportionately burden community projects
• Planning system barriers: removal of NPPF paragraph 161 eliminated explicit community energy recognition; local planners lack energy training, apply rules inconsistently, and struggle to distinguish community from commercial development
• 5 MW transmission threshold described as 'deeply unambitious' by MPs; Elexon's netting rule change (summer 2026) flagged as 'watershed moment' for local supply viability but not yet implemented
• Financial bottleneck: community groups depend on long-term power purchase agreements (Feed-in Tariff ended 2016); lack of government-backed floor price or export guarantee mechanisms makes revenue planning impossible

Why it matters

Community energy could deliver 8% of the UK's renewable capacity by 2030 while building local ownership and skills, but regulatory and financial barriers are blocking deployment—fixing this requires cross-government clarity on who is responsible and what systemic changes are non-negotiable.

Tone arc

Started cooperative (expert witnesses diagnosing barriers), shifted to critical after January 2026 accountability session revealed no organisation owns the 8 GW target and regulators lack policy steer to prioritise community projects.

Key witnesses

Helen Seagrave (Great British Energy), Marzia Zafar (Ofgem), Victoria Moxham (Elexon), Pete Capener MBE (Community Energy England), Afsheen Kabir Rashid MBE (Repowering London), Eleanor Radcliffe (Carbon Co-op), Councillor Emily O'Brien (Lewes District Council / UK100), Alex Lockton (Low Carbon Hub)