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Latest UK grid connection reform opens the way for more community solar schemes, says Longevity Power
by a utility provider or a private developer. This approach allows broader participation by the local community but without the need for site ownership. “This subscription model broadens participation and attracts private investment. And as in the UK, it enables the rollout of mid-sized solar projects close to the point of consumption, reducing transmission losses and grid congestion. It’s why community solar is now the fastest-growing segment of the US solar market,” he added.
Maguire concluded by saying, “By creating a policy framework that incentivises developers and energy providers to invest in and build community-based solar PV projects, the UK could rapidly ramp up its grassroot-level solar capacity across the country.
fgem’s recent approval of a proposed change by the UK National Energy Service operator (NESO) to grid connection processes opens up new opportunities for community-based renewable energy projects such as small-scale solar parks in both rural and urban areas. That’s according to Longevity Power, the independent strategic renewable energy consultancy. Commenting on the Ofgem decision, Anthony Maguire, Longevity Power’s Managing Director, said, “Streamlining the connection of projects under five megawatts can accelerate the build-out of smaller utility-scale local renewable energy schemes in the UK to generate clean, carbon-free energy for communities, businesses and households.”
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Maguire explained, “Smaller utility-scale energy projects between one and five megawatts in size are a crucial but currently underdeveloped segment in the UK’s energy transition. Projects like smaller solar PV systems strike a balance between the economies of scale of large solar park installations versus the site-specific flexibility of rooftop solar PV systems.”
Ofgem’s approval of the NESO change means small-scale distributed energy projects with a capacity of less than five megawatts, such as community-based schemes, no longer need an Evaluation of Transmission Impact Assessment (TIA) by NESO before they can connect to the grid. They can come on stream more quickly and start delivering low-cost clean energy into the UK’s energy system for households and businesses to use. Maguire continued, “The size and location of smaller community energy schemes deliver a number of operational benefits. They’re often
located closer to the point of consumption, such as industrial estates or communities in rural and urban areas alike. This reduces transmission and distribution costs and eases congestion on the grid.
“Smaller developments are also ideal for unused land like brownfield sites or redundant farmland because they can be deployed more quickly and with fewer planning hurdles than larger projects. Ofgem’s decision to remove the TIA requirement means these schemes can roll out faster and begin generating clean energy.” Maguire went on to compare the community solar model in the UK with the United States and explained how the UK might benefit from emulating the US model to hasten and expand project numbers.
“Community-based solar projects in the UK and community solar initiatives in the US share a common goal of empowering local stakeholders to participate in and benefit from renewable energy,” he said. “But they differ significantly in structure, regulation and scale.”
“In the UK, community energy projects are
often grassroots-driven and involve cooperatives or community benefit societies that own and manage renewable assets. They involve innovative financing through community shares or grants, and any profits are reinvested locally or shared among members.”
“In contrast, US community solar is more commercially oriented. Projects are typically structured around a subscription-based model, in which individual users or businesses, including renters and those without a suitable rooftop for their own solar PV system, subscribe to a share of a nearby solar park’s output that is managed
“But without such a structure in place, smaller projects here risk remaining stuck in a policy and financing limbo that prevents community level solar taking off and achieving its potential, in terms of lower energy bills for customers, more energy independence and security for the country and contributing to the nationwide push to achieve net zero by 2030.”
electricalengieneeringmagazine.co.uk
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