Community Energy Initiatives: wishful thinking or necessity?

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Community Energy Initiatives wishful thinking or
necessity?

• Dr. Patrick Devine-Wright
• De Montfort University
• Presentation to the South East Renewable Energy
  Conference, November 4th 2004

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Community Energy ?

• Recent upsurge in interest in community energy
• Programmes Community Renewables Initiative
  Community Action for Energy Community Energy
  Energy in the Community Community Power Energy
  21 Clear Skies Solar Clubs Energy Champtions
  etc.
• These vary according to role (capital grant vs.
  advice), sector (public, private, voluntary) and
  scale
• Projects Braunstone Solar Streets in Leicester
  Concerto projects such as Bracknell Renaissance
  Awelamantawe Community Wind Farm Baywind
  EcoDyfi Findhorn Sherwood Energy Village
  BedZed
• Characterised by local scale participatory
  processes local benefit renewables and energy
  conservation

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Its not a new idea!

• Post Oil Crisis in 1970s, many questioned the
  social and environmental impacts of science and
  technology
• E.F. Schumacher Small is beautiful
• Amory Lovins Soft vs. Hard Energy Paths
• UK Centre for Alternative Technology 1974-2004
• All questioned conventional energy approach
• But more marginal than mainstream ..

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The mainstream ..

• Large-scale power stations
• Centralised power supply with a national grid
  of pylons and wires
• State-led to market-led approaches (top-down)
• Created a system that is fundamental to everyday
  life yet largely invisible to the public

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Energy Transitions?

• Many are questioning whether this centralised,
  large-scale system is fit for purpose in the
  21st century
• Environmental concerns of climate change and
  impact of carbon emissions
• Social Fuel poverty NIMBYism (including
  opposition to nuclear and renewables such as wind
  turbines) wider concerns about communities and
  civic society
• Economic Low cost in the past, but prices are
  rising
• Political Security of supply - with the end of
  North Sea oil and gas, necessity to import
  fossil-fuels from distant, unstable states
• Technological reliability (grid failure)
  locked-in inefficiencies (70 losses) new
  technologies enabling distributed generation and
  smart energy use (internet metering plus fuel
  cells, micro-chp)

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Two visions of a low carbon future

• 1. Large-scale centralised generation and
  supply
• New nuclear or renewable power stations (biomass
  power plants or wind farms with industrial
  turbines) connected to the electricity
  transmission network
• Hydrogen pipelines using existing gas grid
• 2. Smaller-scale distributed generation,
  supply and DSM
• Solar PV and hot water panels on roofs
• Small-scale wind farms or single turbines
• CHP plants for large commercial buildings and
  homes
• District heating systems and minigrids for
  local distribution
• More emphasis upon energy services and DSM
• Fuel cells and local hydrogen storage

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What about communities?

• It is often assumed that smaller scale energy
  projects will be more community focused, yet in
  reality, neither of these options has a very
  explicit social dimension
• Market-led approaches tend to treat energy as a
  commodity and the public as individualistic
  consumers
• But people are also citizens interested in public
  goods as well as private benefit
• And social beings as members of communities of
  interest and location
• What role do citizens and communities have in
  shaping alternative energy futures?
• Can energy technologies be used to reach social
  policy goals? (e.g. cohesive communities
  employment, training and skills health social
  inclusion participation and citizenship)
• More basically, can a low carbon economy be
  achieved without also fostering a low carbon
  society?

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Power to the people?

• The Local Government Association, the Royal
  Commission on Environment and Pollution and the
  Countryside Agency have called for communities to
  be involved in energy planning and development
  and more responsible for the environmental
  impacts of their energy use
• Community energy is reflected in key policy
  documents such as the Energy White Paper and PPS
  22, as well as initiatives such as the CRI, CAFÉ
  and Clear Skies
• Energy White paper the future energy system will
  require greater involvement from local
  communities ..increasing the deployment of
  renewables will depend on people supporting local
  projects
• PPS 22 Local planning authorities, regional
  stakeholders and Local Strategic Partnerships
  should foster community involvement in renewable
  energy projects. Developers should engage in
  active consultation and discussion with local
  communities at an early stage in the planning
  process
• But will the rhetoric become reality or merely
  motherhood and apple-pie?

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Suggested benefits

• Outcomes
• Locally appropriate development
• Local income generation and new jobs
• Greater public acceptance, less NIMBY opposition
• Local and global environmental benefit
• Process
• Training and skills
• Greater public participation in planning
• Local empowerment
• Building partnerships
• Targeting disadvantaged groups
• Enhanced awareness of energy
• Enhanced cohesiveness/pride in community

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From margin to mainstream?

• New discourse of community energy
• Public programmes supporting community
  participation
• New institutional practices (e.g. stakeholder
  dialogue and deliberative workshops held prior to
  Energy White Paper)
• New institutional structures such as community
  energy cooperatives, social enterprises and
  community ESCos
• New individual roles such as community energy
  fieldworkers, energy champions and energy
  advocates
• Calls for greater involvement and support from
  the public in energy planning and development
• Calls for new institutions such as a community
  energy unit in central government
• But where do communities sit within market-led,
  centralised energy systems?

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Models of Development (Powell and Geoghegan,
2004)
Model Ideology Goal Location
State-led Social democracy/ Marxism Social equality Politics/ Government
Market-led Capitalism/ Neo-liberalism Globalisation Economy
Community- led Democracy/ Civic republicanism Sustainable development (LA 21) Civil society
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Two mental models of the public (Devine-Wright
et al., 2004)
ENERGY USERS ENERGY CITIZENS
Perspective of operation Managed Involved
Type of people Individual 'consumers' Socially aware, active citizens
Model of public understanding Deficient, limited and easily inconvenienced Discriminating, grounded in own or trusted others' experiences
Mode and purpose of communication Information provision for individual decision making Knowledge transfer to build trust and respect
Direction of communication One-way, top down expert to lay Two-way, bottom-up, reciprocal
Content of communication 'Factual' 'Social meanings' e.g. of technology
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Key Questions ..

• Why has community energy become popular?
• How are different support programmes treating the
  issue of community? What mental model is
  used?
• What is a community energy project? How is it
  distinctive from market or state-led development?
• Does the public support community energy?
• How many community energy projects are there in
  the UK?
• What contribution are they making to
  environmental, social and economic policy
  objectives?

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But absence of evidence

• Limited research on community energy
• From Denmark, indication that involvement in
  co-operatives leads to greater public acceptance
  of renewables (Krohn and Damborg, 1999)
• From the UK, some indication of public support
  for local involvement in wind energy
  (Devine-Wright, in press)
• A partnership approach to development
• Local supply of power
• Sharing of profits within local community
• Local ownership

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Wind farms should always be developed in partnership with local communities Wind farms should always be developed in partnership with local communities Wind farms should always be developed in partnership with local communities Wind farms should always be developed in partnership with local communities Wind farms should always be developed in partnership with local communities
Agree Not sure Disagree
146 (88.5) 10 (6.1) 9 (5.5)
Energy produced by wind farms should be used locally Energy produced by wind farms should be used locally Energy produced by wind farms should be used locally Energy produced by wind farms should be used locally Energy produced by wind farms should be used locally
Agree Not sure Disagree
136 (82.4) 10 (6.1) 19 (11.5)
Wind farms should only be developed if profits are put back into the local community Wind farms should only be developed if profits are put back into the local community Wind farms should only be developed if profits are put back into the local community Wind farms should only be developed if profits are put back into the local community Wind farms should only be developed if profits are put back into the local community
Agree Not sure Disagree
139 (84.2) 13 (7.9) 13 (7.9)
Wind farms should not be developed unless they are owned by the community Wind farms should not be developed unless they are owned by the community Wind farms should not be developed unless they are owned by the community Wind farms should not be developed unless they are owned by the community Wind farms should not be developed unless they are owned by the community
Agree Not sure Disagree
86 (51.5) 53 (31.7) 26 (15.6)
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But many gaps in evidence

• What do we mean by community?
• Communities of locality
• Communities of interest
• How is local involvement (bottom-up approach)
  best managed and achieved?
• Do communities have the capacity to lead/partner
  energy schemes?
• Do individuals have the time, skills, motivation
  and knowledge to get involved in energy issues?
• Do institutions have the capacity to enable
  community energy schemes?
• Is there evidence that community led development
  is more beneficial (e.g. lower costs more
  acceptable less environmental impact) than
  existing approaches?

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Current projects at De Montfort

• EPSRC Supergen Networks
• How does the public perceive and evaluate
  renewable energy coops? What motivates
  shareholding and public support? Can cooperatives
  enhance civic participation?
• How is hydrogen for renewables being promoted and
  developed at the community level? How does this
  affect public acceptance?
• 2. EPSRC Braunstone Solar Streets how do local
  perceptions of Solar PV evolve over time? Are
  there tensions between self and community
  benefits? How is a community trust fund
  perceived by local people?

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Current projects at De Montfort

• 3. ESRC Community Energy research project
• Collaboration between De Montfort, Staffordshire
  and Northumbria universities
• Programmes why have community energy programmes
  recently emerged in the UK? How is the idea of
  community interpreted?
• Projects How many are there? How diverse are
  they? What are their aims? To what extent are
  they being realised?
• What generic lessons can be learnt?
• 4. Bracknell Renaissance

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For more information

• www.iesd.dmu.ac.uk
• www.supergen-networks.org.uk
• www.staffs.ac.uk/iesr/communityenergy.htm
• Thank you
• pdwright_at_dmu.ac.uk

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