Community energy projects are being held back by inadequate Government support, says a research report from University of East Anglia (UEA). Why does this matter? After all, community energy projects are small scale and aren’t going to change the world.

Still, the UK government’s 2009 Low Carbon Transition Plan places a lot of emphasis on the role of households and communities in reducing energy use and developing low carbon electricity generation, so presumably the Government that once declared itself the “greenest government ever” would want community energy to thrive.

But that was before David Cameron was reported as saying it was time to get rid of all the “green crap”.

Update 20.3.2022: The Observer reported yesterday that Cameron’s decision to cut ‘green crap’ now costs each household in England £150 a year. An analysis by Carbon Brief shows that energy bills in the UK are nearly £2.5bn higher than they would have been if climate policies had not been scrapped over the past decade. The Observer summarised:

“Analysis by Carbon Brief looked at the cumulative effect of ending onshore wind subsidies, cutting energy efficiency funding and scrapping a programme to make all new homes carbon neutral. It also factored in cuts to solar energy subsidies.

“With the energy price cap already at £1,277 a year and rising to £1,971 in less than a fortnight and an expected £3,000 in October, the analysis found that maintaining the green policies would have reduced energy costs by £8.3bn a year for the economy overall, part of which would equate to £150 a year per household.”