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Power for People (to sell locally generated renewable energy to local people)

AncientMariner
I am both a County Councillor and a Community Councillor.


Recently an organisation Power for People have asked our Community Council to support the Local Electricity Bill. This would enable Parish, Town or Community Councils to set up their own energy companies to sell locally generated renewable energy to local people.  http://www.hawardencommunitycouncil.gov.uk/Hawarden-CC/UserFiles/Files/Item%209%20Local%20Electricity%20Bill.pdf


Whilst I can accept and understand that if our Community Council wished to install solar panels on our office (it is based in a small bungalow) we could sell the surplus electricity produced. However that would be into the network. It would, no doubt, be an interesting calculation to prove that this surplus electricity was actually consumed locally. The only other option would be to have our own network of distribution cables !


Or has the Director of the organisation who sent the email misunderstood how surplus electricity is sold?  Certainly a council could sell waste heat. in the form of steam or hot water produced by a waste incinerator for local housing or perhaps a sports complex (I am thinking of a swimming pool etc) but for either there would have to be arrangements if no heat or too much available.


Clive
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  • 0
    Several years ago I visited a photovoltaic enterprise with Bod followed by a reception.


    The photovoltaic enterprise is funded by private investors, it is immediately adjacent to an industrial estate whose businesses are the customers with the electricity fed straight into their installations. The businesses buy cheaper electricity and the investors receive a dividend on their investment which is higher than most other investments. However there is no distribution required, the electricity is transferred directly from the producer to the consumer.


    At the reception there was a presentation on schemes such as proposed by this bill. The schemes needs investors and presumably with the new government in place this morning he investment will have to come from private investors without any investment of public money by councils or local government being allowed.


    So a company will have to be set up with a board of directors and staff who need paying, then shares issued to raise the finance. The site then needs to be purchased and leased, generation equipment purchased or leased and installed whilst a marketing campaign secures customers, who may or may not be investors.


    That is the easy bit, the biggest hurdle is getting the electricity to the consumers, one option is to install a new private distribution network, which is not impossible as it’s only really like installing a cable TV network however that’s not something that was ever installed in my local area and is a potentially huge and vastly infrastructure project, particularly considering there is already network in place.


    So the only way the local generation bill can get off the ground is if a right of access to the distribution network at an affordable cost is written into it.


    The biggest question though is it viable, can small local generation companies produce electricity for less money than the big companies?


    Another question is, can small local generation companies actually produce electricity with less impact on the environment than the big companies? 


    Andy Betteridge
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  • 0
    Several years ago I visited a photovoltaic enterprise with Bod followed by a reception.


    The photovoltaic enterprise is funded by private investors, it is immediately adjacent to an industrial estate whose businesses are the customers with the electricity fed straight into their installations. The businesses buy cheaper electricity and the investors receive a dividend on their investment which is higher than most other investments. However there is no distribution required, the electricity is transferred directly from the producer to the consumer.


    At the reception there was a presentation on schemes such as proposed by this bill. The schemes needs investors and presumably with the new government in place this morning he investment will have to come from private investors without any investment of public money by councils or local government being allowed.


    So a company will have to be set up with a board of directors and staff who need paying, then shares issued to raise the finance. The site then needs to be purchased and leased, generation equipment purchased or leased and installed whilst a marketing campaign secures customers, who may or may not be investors.


    That is the easy bit, the biggest hurdle is getting the electricity to the consumers, one option is to install a new private distribution network, which is not impossible as it’s only really like installing a cable TV network however that’s not something that was ever installed in my local area and is a potentially huge and vastly infrastructure project, particularly considering there is already network in place.


    So the only way the local generation bill can get off the ground is if a right of access to the distribution network at an affordable cost is written into it.


    The biggest question though is it viable, can small local generation companies produce electricity for less money than the big companies?


    Another question is, can small local generation companies actually produce electricity with less impact on the environment than the big companies? 


    Andy Betteridge
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