Alexandra Phillips, Green MEP for the South East and a champion of the Green New Deal has reacted to today’s release by Community Energy England of its annual report on the state of the sector (1).
Alexandra said: “The report describes 2018 as “a year of uncertainty and challenge”.
“There’s only one source of that uncertainty, the total failure of government policy to engage with the needs of this crucial part of the renewables sector that is also an essential part of strong, resilient local economies right across the country.
“Community energy should be at the heart of the government’s policy, but like the whole renewables and energy efficiency sector it has been trapped in an uncertain policy environment, given limited encouragement then all too often had the rug pulled out from under its feet, as with the sudden ending of the feed-in tariff.”
“The report says ‘very few new community energy projects were developed’ last year, despite the fact that this was the year the urgency of our climate emergency became clear.
“Eighty two per cent of people think the government should do more to help communities generate their own energy.
“The government should listen to the people, and the call for the restoration of tax relief on investments in community energy projects made today at the conference.
“Community energy is a crucial part of the Green New Deal – it contributes to tackling the climate crisis, taking people out of fuel poverty and creates secure, local jobs, keeping money circulating in local economies, rather than being swished off into the coffers of giant multinational companies.”
Notes
(1) https://communityenergyengland.org/pages/state-of-the-sector-report-2019/