New polls have shown that most of the public supports community energy projects and would get behind them with their time, money, and support.
The Labour government’s Local Power Plan (LPP) has set the ambition to support local authorities and community groups in developing community-owned energy projects at scale, contributing to the UK’s pathway to net zero and building community wealth.
A recent poll survey was conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Common Wealth, who, along with Power to Change, Ashden, and Locality, are researching to explore how the Local Power Plan can be designed and implemented to maximise its impact.
The results concluded that:
- 62 per cent of the public would support a community-owned renewable energy project in their area, compared to 40 per cent support for a privately-owned project.
- 53 per cent of the public say they would be likely to reduce their energy consumption in support of a community energy project, with 24 per cent and 14 per cent likely to volunteer their time and invest money, respectively.
- Lack of funds and lack of time were major reasons raised by those who said they were unlikely to participate, and there are differences in likelihood to participate across age, gender, education levels and social grade.
There were some further noteoworthy insights that we derived from the full report.
Ethnic minority groups were the most likely to invest and participate in the project. Though it was not clear which ethnic minority groups in particular and the reasons for it, we suspect it has something to do with cooperative values and the sense of community ownership being a norm within many cultures.
For example, it is standard practice within faith communities, knowing many such case studies across Britain, to crowdfund donations to fund the building, buying or renovating places of worship.
Of the people who said they would not invest or spend time, 15% stated the reason to be because they lacked knowledge. We see this as a huge untapped opportunity. Community energy is not a familiar model to most people, though when explained, it resonates. The more familiar people are with community energy and the more opportunities to get involved – the sector is ripe for growth.
Whether it’s an owner of a community building who could see cost savings from day one without any upfront investment impact, investors who see a steady return on investment for a worthy investment and the opportunity to own clean generation within their communities, or people that want to volunteer their time to learn more about renewable energy technology, community energy is highly accessible.
We’re pleased to see the results of the YouGov survey, it emphasises what those of us what work in the community energy space, see every day. When people understand the model – they are immediately drawn in. It offers ownership of infrastructure in their local area, a greater sense of control of energy production, and financial and community benefits, all whilst reducing carbon emissions.
What’s not to like?