Here is a record of the policy responses we have submitted and our position on subjects that are receiving the attention of legislators.
You can download any of these responses as a PDF from this page. For a .docx version, please email Josh at j.barnes@communityenergyengland.org.
Response to NESO Financial Instrument call for input.
The National Energy System Operator proposes a security fee' of £20k per MW for transmission connections to deter speculative or zombie applications. This would add around 20% to at-risk development costs for large scale projects and would render many large projects unfundable, thus damaging prospects for growing the sector to meet ambitous 8GW government targets
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CEE's Response to the Law Commission’s Review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
The Law Commission's proposals would endanger the continued existence of many community energy cooperatives and CBSs as many of the activities for which they were set up are prevented by one or the other set of rules. You can read CEE's consultation response to their proposals here.
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Threat to community energy growth from the Law Commission proposals
This Briefing outlines the potential threat to sector growth from the current Law Commission consultation, deadline 10 December 2024. Specific guidane for members to respond to the consultation will be published soon. NB this is not CEE's consultation response.
A leading community energy co-op director has said, “These reforms pose a fundamental threat to community energy. Some of the sector’s most vibrant organisations will be extinguished.”
Joint statement with the Climate Coalition asking for UK climate leadership at COP29
We signed this joint statement with a quotation from our Chair of Directors, Helen Seagrave, urging strong climate leadership at COP and enabling community leadership at home.
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CEE's Response to Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy Consultation
The industrial strategy is the UK government’s proposed 10-year plan for the economy. CEE responded with proposals to unlock the potential of community energy ahead of the publication of the final industrial strategy in spring 2025, alongside the multi-year spending review.
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Joint letter on community energy priority access to grid connection
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has published its recommended Pathway to Clean Power 2030.
Grid connections will be prioritise on 'first ready' and 'most needed for Clean Power by 2030'. We are asking that the govenment designate community energy and shared ownership schemes as 'needed for 2030' for the government's Local Power Plan to succeed. This would help them get priority access to the grid.