Scotland meets community renewable ownership target five years ahead of schedule

Scotland has met its target of moving more renewable energy capacity into community ownership – five years ahead of schedule.

Appearing at Holyrood’s Community Energy Conference in Perth, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced an estimated 508 megawatts (MW) of community and locally owned capacity is now operational in Scotland, five years before the 2020 target.

Anne Schiffer, energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland, said it was “fantastic news” in the context of “the UK Government’s sustained and ideological attack on renewable energy”.

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Patrick Harvie described the figure as “a drop in the ocean compared with what we could have”.

The Scottish Green party co-convener highlighted that 508 MWs makes up just three per cent of renewables ownership in Scotland. Germany has 65 per cent in local or community hands.

Ewing said community energy represents an opportunity to empower people to make the most of their own local resources.

He said: “By creating a system that focuses on local energy, we can help to tackle some of our most pressing issues – from security of supply, to increasing energy costs - and stimulate local economic renewal.

He added: “We will be considering the scope to review our target alongside other energy policy development over the coming months.

“There are still challenges we need to overcome - community energy generally has higher capital costs, longer lead in times and frequent delays in connecting to the grid, while the UK Government is intent on slashing support for small scale renewables.”

Harvie said: “We could be copying Germany's Energiewende programme of switching to renewables and reducing demand through widespread local ownership. Giving communities and public bodies control not only creates jobs and cuts bills but provides revenue to invest in other priorities.

“The barriers and challenges faced by local ownership and community ownership are different and require specific support. It's a huge opportunity and ministers need to go much further and much faster on this or Scotland will continue to be left behind.”

Schiffer said: “What is important now is that we see this as a starting point of a citizen-led renewables transformation not the end. Scotland must continue to lead the way to an energy future that benefits both people and the planet. To ensure even more communities benefit across the country, we urge the Scottish Government to double the 2020 target to 1000MW as well as set an ambitious target of 2000MW for 2030.”

“Community ownership has been instrumental in achieving broader public acceptance of renewables and is vital in helping reach the Scottish Government’s 100 per cent renewable energy target for electricity demand by 2020. Community energy helps tackle climate change and enables communities to use local natural resources to create jobs and strengthen local economies.

“Climate change means that we have to transform our energy systems from dirty fossil fuels to renewables. Community energy allows us to put people at the heart of that change.”