Coalition Government adopts APSRG recommendation

Community energy proposals in line with recent APSRG report

20 May 2010

The new Government will seek to "encourage community-owned renewable energy schemes, where local people benefit from the power produced". The statement was made in The Coalition: our programme for government, published on 20 May.

This is in line with a recommendation made in the recent APSRG report Waste Management Infrastructure: Incentivising Community Buy-In, calling on government to examine the potential of community ownership schemes for sustainable resource management, including energy-from-waste.

In addition, the Government state they will implement measures to provide financial incentives for communities that host renewables infrastructure, specifically through allowing communities to keep additional business rates generated.

Again, this is in line with recommendations made in the APSRG report, calling for financial incentives for communities that host energy generating infrastructure (however the report called for a system of utility discounts, rather than utilising business rates).