Context
The MP highlights a successful community energy scheme called Meadow Blue Community Energy in Chichester, which invests back into the local community and supports solar panel installations on school roofs.
Question
Private sector investment via community energy schemes is a popular way of engaging people to get behind renewable energy projects in their area. Does the Secretary of State agree that community energy projects would attract more private sector investment if grid access costs were reduced and the delivery of local supply was made easier?
Answer from The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)
The hon. Lady raises an important issue, which was also raised by the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam. She is right about the virtues of community energy. Great British Energy will partner with local communities to deliver community energy up and down the country because sometimes public capital can help lever in private capital that we need. She is also right about some of the barriers, as the Energy Minister mentioned. I want to assure her that we are going through different barriers in granular, nerdy detail to see how we can break them down.
Not addressed: Reducing grid access costs and simplifying local supply delivery were acknowledged but not directly committed to in a specific timeframe or mechanism.
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