Morning, Friday, 16th October 2026
Online
This conference will focus on next steps for community energy across the UK, as implementation begins on plans for up to £1bn of investment through Great British Energy to increase community involvement in the development and ownership of local energy projects. It takes place following the rollout of GBE’s People’s Power projects, including £30m in initial funding for community-led clean energy and plans to increase opportunities for communities to take ownership stakes in renewable energy developments.
Areas for discussion include funding and support for project development, local supply and access to energy markets, grid connections and energy planning, and approaches to community ownership, local benefit and public participation.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implementation of GBE’s Local Power Plan and the practical arrangements needed to give communities across the country opportunities to own and benefit from local energy by 2030. Discussion will draw on the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s report on unlocking community energy at scale and the Government’s response, including questions around regulation and delivery arrangements, and the barriers faced by community projects in financing, market access, grid connections, planning and organisational capacity.
Project development, investment & support
Discussion will consider how the Local Power Plan can support a stronger and more investable pipeline of community energy projects, from early development through to financing and delivery.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- early-stage support: access to development funding - grants and loans - technical assistance
- project capability: legal and commercial expertise - governance - procurement - support for smaller and volunteer-led organisations
- investment models: community shares - shared ownership - combining public, community and private finance
- routes to delivery: the role of GBE - local authorities and delivery partners - moving viable projects towards implementation
- long-term investment: revenue certainty - commercial risk - attracting finance while retaining meaningful community involvement
Regulation, market access & local supply
The place of community-owned generation and local supply within the future energy system will be considered, including options for widening access to electricity and flexibility markets, and enabling communities to realise more value from locally generated power.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- local supply: options for selling or sharing electricity locally - community supply models - responding to local energy needs
- market access: power purchase agreements - electricity and flexibility markets - other routes to market
- regulatory reform: relevant market-code changes - electricity supply licensing - treatment of smaller and licence-exempt suppliers
- proportionality: regulatory requirements - administrative burdens - market rules for smaller community organisations
- local outcomes: household and community energy costs - resilience - local economic development
Financial sustainability, governance & local benefit
The conference will also assess arrangements for sustaining community energy projects over the longer-term and for determining how ownership, governance and financial benefits are shared between communities and delivery partners.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- financial sustainability: revenue certainty - operating costs - access to finance over the lifetime of projects
- shared ownership: community stakes in commercial renewable energy projects - ownership models - developing approach to shared-ownership offers
- governance: roles of community organisations - local authorities - developers and other delivery partners
- community benefit: revenue sharing - community funds - lower local energy costs - employment and investment
- accountability & protection: decision-making - representation - consumer safeguards as ownership and delivery models become more complex
- measuring impact: economic and social benefits - resilience - generating capacity and financial performance
Planning, networks & local capacity
Further sessions will consider how planning, network capacity and strategic energy planning affect the ability of community projects to move from development into operation, and the coordination required between local priorities and wider energy-system investment.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- planning & consenting:
- approaches to addressing barriers facing community projects - implications of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025
- revised NPPF in England and relevant arrangements across the devolved nations
- grid connections: connection delays - network capacity - curtailment - implications of wider connections reform
- strategic planning: Local Area Energy Plans where used - Regional Energy Strategic Plans - the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan
- local capacity: planning capability - technical expertise - delivery capacity within local authorities and community organisations
- coordination: GBE and government - Ofgem and NESO - network operators - local authorities and community organisations
- participation & place: environmental considerations - community engagement - local ownership and visible benefit - public support for energy infrastructure
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons and officials from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; Department for Education; Department for the Economy, NI; Climate Change Committee; HM Treasury; House of Commons Library; Office for Investment; National Wealth Fund; Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, ROI; the Welsh Government; and The Scottish Government.
