Policymakers have to support the diversification of community energy, which plays a key role in making an inclusive and socially just net-zero transition.
A new study published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science found that in the future community energy could "spread into all parts of the energy system," such as transportation and flexibility services, said Dr Tim Braunholtz-Speight of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester.
Some community energy groups could even run mixed mobility services, such as buses and car clubs, or heat networks in off-grid areas and new-build developments, and sell generated electricity to local customers and national wholesalers. They could also trade flexible demand on behalf of local residents.
But for these to happen, Braunholtz-Speight said a change in the shape and scale of community energy is a must. "The boundaries of the sector might become ‘fuzzy’, with partnerships with other community groups, housing bodies and local authorities more common," he said in a blog post, noting a potential to form "co-op of co-ops" or partnerships of community energy groups across locations.
Novel business models enabling community energy, for example, demand response using consumer EV batteries or heating, require more community participation. "Using the concept of business models to interrogate how community energy could be structured in the future, we find that the sector could diversify from its current focus on renewable electricity generation and energy efficiency, into new areas of the energy system: demand-side flexibility, mobility and heat," said Braunholtz-Speight.
Policies should be modified to help small community energy survive in the market and require local governments to purchase from and invest in community energy.
In convincing policymakers to support community energy, Braunholtz-Speight suggested that the sector :
- Suggest the energy transition requires local power and ownership;
- Insist that the UK can also have a large, operationally-focused community and cooperative energy sector, such is the case in several European countries; and
- Focus on community energy’s role in delivering social and environmental co-benefits.
