June 2018
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
The seminar considered key challenges for developing local and community energy projects and ownership across the UK, and the opportunities they present for addressing fuel poverty, industry growth and energy decarbonisation.
Delegates discussed how energy assets owned by community groups might best improve local empowerment and deliver new economic opportunities, with sessions identifying challenges facing the sector, such as Feed-in-Tariff reform and revenue reduction, planning permission barriers for new projects, and the integration of renewable assets across the electricity network.
Further sessions on the day examined:
- Priorities for securing the investment needed to grow local energy projects and delivering electricity infrastructure upgrades;
- What might be done to address challenges presented by lower fixed cost revenues for financing grid maintenance and improvements, as domestic energy generators contribute less to running the network;
- Opportunities for power exports - including how surplus renewable energy generation might best boost cross-border trade between Scotland and the rest of the UK;
- The potential benefits of local and community energy technologies for adjacent markets like energy storage, electric vehicles and heat; and
- Further action that might be taken to encourage greater collaboration between local authorities, the private sector, and network operators.
