Speeches by Crichton.

“Do you see an appetite for that Orkney example elsewhere in Scotland or elsewhere across the UK? Do you see other people wanting to do that?”

“Okay. Speaking of money, Zoë and Louise, you have both proposed that GB Energy attaches conditions to funding grants that require local authorities to work with community energy groups. Why did you raise your concerns?”

“Welcome all. Forgive my voice—it is in my boots. I was going to ask questions about the role of local authorities, but before I do, Marna McMillin, you mentioned about communities of interest as well as communities of place. I think you will recognise a community when you see one, but this idea of community of interest…”

“You have anticipated my question, Matthew and Helen, by talking about these incentives and CfD plus, by which I assume you mean that, if there is a community element to your application for CfD, you will be bumped up that queue, and if there was a grid connection application that had a community element, say 25% or 20%…”

“Zoë, do you agree?”

“Jake and Zoë, you talked about the depth of professional knowledge there already is in the community sector. Is there not an argument for taking that knowledge and turning it into a community energy unit within GB Energy that helps other communities that do not have that capacity?”

“Okay, thank you.”

“They have never been used?”

“Thanks. Jake, just very quickly, you talked about the community right to buy in that Infrastructure Act 2015.”

“A 20% offer to get GB Energy money and grid connections more quickly as a community element. Jake, what is your view?”

“—and that there should be a mandatory approach. If GB Energy is going to be investing in lots of these schemes, should there be a minimum obligation for community share in schemes that GB Energy finances?”

“Basically, you are saying the guidelines approach has not worked—”

“I am going to go to Zoë first to ask what her experience was in Scotland and then I will come to you, Jake.”

“Do you think there should be a derogation, then, for schemes that have a community element or even a 100% community element?”

“Yes—I am conscious of the time as well, Chair. Net zero will not happen without the muscle of private companies and the backing of Government but, importantly, with the consent of communities. The quickest way to get community buy-in is shared ownership. I want to ask the panel what incentives commercial developers sho…”

“Thank you. Louise, you have quite a lot of experience in this with Net Zero Terrace Streets. What are the top tips? What can we learn from that experience?”

“Do you see an appetite for that Orkney example elsewhere in Scotland or elsewhere across the UK? Do you see other people wanting to do that?”

“Okay. Speaking of money, Zoë and Louise, you have both proposed that GB Energy attaches conditions to funding grants that require local authorities to work with community energy groups. Why did you raise your concerns?”

“Welcome all. Forgive my voice—it is in my boots. I was going to ask questions about the role of local authorities, but before I do, Marna McMillin, you mentioned about communities of interest as well as communities of place. I think you will recognise a community when you see one, but this idea of community of interest…”

“We all know of one famous US citizen who has close family ties to Scotland, but there are 25 million Scots Americans who want to trace their lineage—it is a big market. That is why organisations in my constituency such as Hebrides People in Harris and historical societies in Ness and North Uist invest in family histori…”