Written by Sarah Jeffery, Head of Strategic Customer Engagement, National Grid Electricity Distribution
With the publication of the National Energy System Operator’s Advice to Government, we’ve now got our 2030 mission and, while challenging, it is deliverable. The UK Government is clear about the urgency of 2030, and the fundamental role they want community energy to play in this. Therefore, it is incumbent on distribution network operators (DNOs), like ourselves, to step up and play our part helping community groups.
That’s why I am pleased that National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has joined Community Energy England, at the same time as Community Energy Wales. We have a critical role to play helping communities benefit from the race to Clean Power 2030. We, mutually, have so much to gain – and learn – from working with Community Energy England’s members across the Midlands and South West. It’s something that I am really excited about, having recently joined NGED’s Community Energy Team.
In the coming months, my team will be refreshing our approach to community energy – and we very much welcome your input shaping this. It is all the more timely given the Government’s Local Power Plan. We look forward to working with the membership to better understand the challenges facing the sector, identifying where NGED, as a DNO, can best position our offering. Similarly, we want to identify the barriers that inhibit our ability to help connect community projects to the distribution network, and work with Community Energy England’s members to provide a strong collective voice to policymakers to help us solve these.
Accelerating community energy, as with achieving Clean Power 2030, we know is possible – but only with the reform of both planning and connections regimes. DNOs must be able to deliver the requisite infrastructure quickly and to allow the right kind of connections to progress faster.
We know more is needed to connect more community energy projects to the grid. There are no doubt more insights, best practice and solutions amongst the groups that we will encounter as NGED becomes an increasingly active part of both Community Energy England and Community Energy Wales. Let's work together and learn from each other as we move towards Clean Power 2030 - we’re very much relishing the opportunity to unleash the potential of community energy together.
