Ensure that community ownership of energy is a substantial part of the energy transition, setting a target to have 1GW of community-owned energy in Scotland by 2031 and 25% of energy installations in community ownership by 2040
To build public support for renewables and the energy transition, we must enable and support increased community ownership and shared ownership of new and existing electricity and heat infrastructure, and fair distribution of the wealth that is being generated and consolidated through renewables.
64% of the Scottish public would support a community-owned renewables project in their area, compared to 40% support for a private project. This is partly due to financial benefit: on average, community-owned wind farms provide 34 times more financial benefit per MW (and sometimes more) to the local community than private wind farms. However, equally important is that communities feel a sense of control and involvement in the energy transition. Community energy projects drive sustainable behaviour changes and help ensure a just transition for all.
Meeting these targets is possible with the right policies and incentives to drive change, and would mean the benefits of clean energy stay in communities and build community wealth.
The Scottish Government has already set itself a target of 2GW of local and community-owned energy by 2030, and is currently at 1.1GW. It should commit to meeting higher targets by enabling the increase of true community ownership and shared ownership, rather than supporting more local ownership that is privately-owned, e.g. by farms, estates and commercial energy businesses.
The National Framework Agreement for the Supply of Electricity should enable local authorities who use it to buy a percentage of their power from local communities, meaning lower costs for the local authority and a guaranteed income for the community group.
Our people and places urgently require energy-focussed Community Development Officers to support their communities to negotiate shared ownership opportunities with private developers and develop feasible and substantial shared-ownership community energy schemes. The increased interest in community energy is apparent through the work that Community Energy Scotland and the Climate Hubs are undertaking across Scotland. However, the support to deliver this action must be provided by the next Scottish Government.
For more information: