NFLA seeks new National Community Energy Fund to drive People Power

Posted: 17th March 2022

The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) are appealing to the Business Secretary to create a new National Community Energy Fund to support community-owned energy businesses. 

In his letter to Kwasi Kwarteng MP, NFLA Steering Committee Chair, Councillor David Blackburn, cites the ‘inexplicable’ closure of the Rural Community Energy Fund this month as a retrograde step when the £10 million fund has been instrumental in attracting hundreds of millions of pounds of public investment in community energy projects. 

Instead Cllr Blackburn has asked the Secretary of State to transform the Fund into a National Community Energy Fund with more money to make it a ‘significant vehicle in driving forward public investment in green technologies to deliver the renewable energy and energy efficiency that we need if Britain is truly to become Net Zero by 2050’.

The NFLA is opposed to new civil nuclear power projects and instead wants to see public money diverted into supporting the development of renewables, energy storage systems and energy efficiency measures, such as the retrofitting of insulation to Britain’s homes as a new national priority. Many of these activities are being delivered by community-owned cooperative enterprises, which the NFLA wants to see support to ensure they thrive.

“Community energy involves people and communities in creating climate solutions to support our net zero transition, whilst maximising the social benefit from it. Many thousands of British people have already creditably invested and become involved in energy co-operatives,” said Cllr Blackburn. 

“The government has recognised the valuable role that community and locally owned renewable energy projects can play in reaching our net zero targets. The NFLA wants the government to put its money where its mouth is by backing these projects with a new national fund which can supply ‘at risk’ seed corn funding to develop innovative proposals to the point where they can attract investment from the public.”