Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, welcomed the latest announcement by the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero with rural and local communities across England to be supported with a new £10 million government fund.
The funding will help to kickstart projects including small scale wind farms and rooftop solar partnerships, as well as battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging points, and fuel poverty alleviation schemes – all proposed, designed and owned by local people.
The new government grant called the ‘Community Energy Fund’ will open in early Autumn where communities will be able to win a portion of the fund to develop their local renewable energy projects. The funding will have a huge impact on the local economy of both urban and rural areas supporting jobs and economic growth and enable communities to directly benefit from clean, affordable, locally sourced energy.
Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon said:
“Since I have been elected as the MP for North Devon, I have been working to bring the benefits and opportunities of the growing renewable energy industry to the south west and North Devon. I have always supported community energy projects having worked with Power for People and campaigned for amendments to be added to the Energy Bill to enable more community energy projects in the UK.
“ I am pleased that the Department recognises the importance of community energy and its huge potential to reform the energy market by decreasing the UK’s reliance on the global energy market and increasing our energy security. Alongside being a renewable energy resource, community energy brings fantastic opportunities to local communities and strengthen the local economy. I hope that communities in North Devon will take full advantage of the grant once applications open in early Autumn.”
Andrew Bowie, Minister for Nuclear and Networks said:
“Local communities are at the heart of our plans to boost our energy security and grow the economy. The Community Energy Fund for England will empower communities to do just that.
“With it, they’ll be able to drive forward innovative energy projects that will have a lasting positive impact, bringing costs down, building stronger communities, and securing clean energy for generations to come.
“Importantly, these energy projects could expand beyond local areas by attracting further investment from the private sector, in turn inspiring other communities to power their area with energy from England.”
