• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Thursday November 6 2014

New Shared Ownership Protocol is welcomed by Good Energy

Good Energy, the Chippenham-based renewables firm, has welcomed the launch of the voluntary Shared Ownership Protocol for renewable energy generation.

The protocol, announced by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, the protocol requires renewable energy developers to offer community participation in all their substantial new projects, like solar and wind farms.

Mr Davey suggests the benefits will be twofold:

• The commercial developer should see increased local acceptance and therefore a significantly higher probability of obtaining consents; and also a new source of finance from the community investors.
• Communities can participate in schemes that might be too large to undertake on their own; and can learn from the expertise and professionalism of developers with extensive history in completing sustainable energy projects.

“We’re pleased to see that the approach includes lots of ideas for engagement with local communities so that as many people as possible can share in the benefits of renewable energy. This is an approach Good Energy has always supported, and will continue to do so,” said Good Energy founder and CEO, Juliet Davenport.

“Community energy is a new but fast-growing concept in the UK and we’re keen to continue to engage with community groups to support the roll-out of decentralised renewable energy in the UK, to tackle climate change and deliver energy security.”