Britain's coastal and rural communities will receive a cash boost
for new community facilities, better transport links and
investment in apprenticeships, under government plans as part of
the Plan for Change mission to make Britain a clean energy
superpower.
The proposals will require community benefits for families,
businesses and local community groups who live near
offshore wind, onshore wind and solar farms.
They would enshrine in law a requirement for renewable developers
to pay into community benefit funds, ensuring infrastructure
projects contribute to residents' lives, the local economy and
growth as part of the government's Plan for Change.
This could include new grassroots football pitches in Welsh
seaside towns, initiatives to get young people into employment on
the Yorkshire coast to train the next generation of engineers,
and funding for transport links and schools in the Scottish
highlands.
Coastal and rural areas will play a significant role in hosting
the clean energy projects needed to get energy bills down for
good and deliver energy security with homegrown power that
Britain controls.
In recognition, the funding will channel community investment
into where it has real impact – with families in the area
deciding where the money should be spent. The plans also set out
how communities could own a stake in renewable energy
infrastructure through shared ownership, resulting in profits
being reinvested back into the community and the British people
having a stake in the clean energy transition.
The level of payments to communities will range depending on the
size of infrastructure projects, from tens of thousands of pounds
a year for small developments and up to millions of pounds per
year for largescale developments.
Energy Secretary said:
If you live near an offshore wind or solar farm, your local
community should benefit from supporting this nationally critical
mission.
The Prime Minister's mission to become a clean energy superpower
is creating good well-paid jobs in these areas, building the
infrastructure we need to get energy bills down for working
people.
Our Plan for Change will revitalise Britain's coastal and rural
communities creating community wealth, better facilities and
energy security for the country.
This will benefit every household in the country by getting the
UK off fossil fuel dependency and protecting billpayers from
price shocks with clean homegrown power.
The announcement will build on measures introduced in the
Planning and Infrastructure Bill where households within 500
metres of new or upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure
will get electricity bill discounts of up to £2,500 over 10
years.
The proposals seek input on which types of energy infrastructure
should be required to pay into community benefit funds, which may
include renewable and low-carbon electricity generation,
and energy storage.
Community benefits are an established part of development for
energy infrastructure in many countries, including Ireland,
France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
James Robottom, Head of Policy at RenewableUK, said:
Renewable energy developers have a long history of providing a
wide range of benefits for local communities, such as community
benefit funds which support local initiatives, electricity
discounts, employment initiatives and environmental projects.
We welcome the government's consultation and will engage with it
to ensure that the benefits received by local communities hosting
energy infrastructure are proportionate and continue to meet
their needs. Renewable energy developers are good neighbours and
remain committed to providing benefits at an appropriate level to
enable local communities to thrive all over the country.
This builds on Monday's announcement to support coastal
communities with the £360 million Fishing and
Coastal Growth Fund, the new SPS (sanitary and
phytosanitary) agreement that will slash red tape for UK seafood
exporters and businesses, and a new twelve-year fisheries access
agreement with the EU
securing long-term certainty for British fishing fleets.
The Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will see investment in new
technology and equipment to modernise Britain's fishing fleet,
deliver new training and skills to back the next generation of
fishers and promote the seafood sector to export our high-quality
produce across the world.
Notes to Editors
Read more about the
working paper. We are inviting views from industry and
stakeholders on the proposals until Wednesday 16 July.
