Community Energy (Review)

I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the Secretary of State to conduct a review of the contribution of community energy to the Government’s Clean Power 2030 mission.

The clean power mission and climate policy more generally are what brought me into politics. Ensuring that we have a world that is economically, ecologically and environmentally viable for future generations is one of the reasons that I am privileged to stand in this House today and that many people across the Hexham constituency put their faith in me.

I thank local climate groups, such as the Hexham Climate Café, the North Tyne climate action group and Sustainable Haltwhistle for their engagement and feedback on climate issues. I have always committed to working with local charities and organisations throughout my constituency as we strive to protect our climate and our planet. I also want to pay tribute to the Co-operative party for constantly raising the issue on a national level.

The country is on a vital mission to achieve net zero and to combat the immediate and very real threat of climate change. It is a mission that we can and must achieve. The British people deserve lower costs and secure power, with good jobs and a Government that protect them from the long-term threats posed by climate change. I am therefore glad the Government have committed to a clean power mission by 2030 that will achieve energy security, protect bill payers, create good jobs and help to protect future generations from the cost of climate breakdown.

To ensure that this country is on the right path to becoming a clean energy superpower, it is essential that we unlock the full extent of renewable energy and conduct a necessary review of the contribution of community energy to the 2030 clean power mission. For decades, energy has been produced and, crucially, owned far away from this country. Many constituents pay their energy bills to a company based 600 miles and an ocean away. We know our energy system is broken, but for too long it has been too distant to fix. The Labour Government will do things differently.

Great British Energy, owned by the British people, will invest in clean energy and ensure that our communities reap the benefits, not just through cheaper bills that families can afford, but through new jobs for our young people, bringing growth that will revitalise local economies. The local power plan, to be developed by Great British Energy, has the potential to facilitate that necessary drive towards community energy projects, ensuring funding is available to support local projects that could be transformational.

Community energy offers a crucial opportunity of agency and empowerment within local communities to develop practical and long-term energy solutions. It will not only deliver key elements that are essential for reaching our net zero targets, but encourage local generation at household and community level, reducing the need for electricity to be imported into communities. It is necessary for individual houses to change their energy usage to make our net zero targets achievable.

There are opportunities for community-owned power throughout the country. Indeed, we know what can happen when communities as a whole come together. We see the mutual support and care that constituents hold for each other. When a community has been left behind time and again, as is the case with many in the north-east, we know how to pull together. Community energy and engagement are essential for achieving the net zero transition. Individual households throughout the country can engage. Through both centralised generation and storage, houses can be powered locally, reducing demand for imports from the distribution network and cutting energy bills.

As a leader in offshore wind power and research, the north-east is already a frontrunner in energy production, supporting more than 5 GW of offshore production, with a further 72 GW of potential production. My region can display leadership not only in production, but through infrastructure, and we can supply more than 130 GW of offshore power through the north-east local supply chain across all four of our nations. Supporting the green energy transition can start in the north-east. Not only is the region strongly placed to deliver offshore wind in the North sea, but we are in a strong position to install and maintain the growing pipeline of heat network projects that would support the supply chain in the north-east and foster highly skilled jobs that are vital to the region and necessary in ensuring that young people in the north-east can remain there and secure high-paying work.

It is essential that the resources the country has at its disposal are properly recognised. Through community engagement and energy, effective solutions can be tailored specifically to regions and localities. Community-owned energy projects are, however, not new. They already exist and thrive across the country, thanks to the innovation and drive of individuals. In that regard, I want to acknowledge and highlight the phenomenal work of Humshaugh Net Zero, its founder Herbie Newell, and David Still. I thank them for their support and their commitment to delivering net zero emissions by 2030. One of my first meetings as Hexham’s MP was in the room above the Crown Inn in Humshaugh to talk about net zero, which I highly recommend to the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks) if he comes up to visit.

Humshaugh Net Zero has already installed a number of low-carbon technologies, including solar, heat pumps, battery storage, electric vehicles and biomass. Its efforts to launch, this year, one of the first community-based solar farms in the north-east captures my constituents’ community spirit and drive. Its aim is to successfully deliver half of the parish’s electricity demand. I believe that the work of Humshaugh Net Zero would be of valuable interest to a review of community energy, informing how to unlock community energy at scale and how to support the development of other projects throughout the region and the country. It provides a strong example of community engagement and a model for how that can be achieved.

Launching a review will assist the Secretary of State to understand how best to support the thriving community energy schemes that already exist, as well as to set up new projects that benefit new communities. A review could consider how to expand the availability of funding for local projects and examine how best to support community energy projects, specifically those in rural areas, to facilitate strong working relations with landlords and ensure that planning processes receive local support and consultation.

Supply companies could be mandated to ensure that economic power is contractually negotiated on appropriate terms. A review could also identify how best to successfully expand and transform smaller projects into large-scale projects that respect local communities and interests. Smaller community projects face far higher financial challenges. A possible guarantee scheme could make considerable headway to successfully minimise the risk.

Through conducting a review, solutions can be considered to tackle the two major challenges for community energy projects: first, ensuring that funding is available on competitive terms; and, secondly, ensuring that there is support for electricity to be sold to the community to maximise project revenue. Launching this vital review into community energy will support our mission to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

I am proud that throughout the Hexham constituency, local residents are already engaging in efforts to reduce their emissions and committing to green energy to achieve that 2030 mission. In Prudhoe, the Friends of Eastwoods Park and the Miners Lamp Cafe have introduced solar panels and battery storage. This has received vital funding from Northern Powergrid, and the drive of local residents has made sure that the building can still be heated, meals can be cooked and ingredients can be preserved through the local green energy supply. The Stocksfield community association has, similarly, transformed the local community centre into a crisis centre. By achieving a self-sufficient energy source, the community centre can operate as a support service for local residents during emergencies. Not only is this a valuable asset to the local community, but it offers a cost-effective solution. As Prudhoe, Humshaugh and Stocksfield represent, community energy provides more than just energy; it fosters community collaboration and cohesion.

It is clear that we need to take community power seriously. Community energy is integral to our clean power mission. It is integral to ensuring that cheap and affordable power is accessible to local residents across the country, and it is essential for ensuring that this country utilises the valuable resources at our disposal. Conducting a review of the contribution of community energy to the 2030 clean power mission is vital for identifying challenges, threats and necessary solutions. I look forward to a future where my home and the homes of my constituents can be powered by green energy built and generated in the north-east.

That Joe Morris, Emma Foody, Mark Ferguson, Ms Polly Billington, Maya Ellis, James Naish, Torcuil Crichton and Dr Simon Opher present the Bill.

Joe Morris accordingly presented the Bill.