At present only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authority-owned renewables, despite the scope that exists to install projects on their land and buildings. In Germany the equivalent figure is 100 times higher.

The Labour government consulted in the spring on whether local authorities should be given the power to sell renewable electricity they generate. An overwhelming majority of the responses said yes, arguing that this would let local authorities participate fully in meeting climate change targets and benefit from Feed-in Tariffs and other incentives.

The Government has therefore decided to change the law. The change could mean up to £100 million a year in income for local authorities across England and Wales.

At present local authorities are able to put any renewable electricity they generate to local use, and to benefit from the associated feed in tariff for projects smaller than 5MW.

But they are restricted from selling any excess renewable electricity into the grid (other than that generated from combined heat and power), and also from benefiting from the additional export component of the feed in tariff.

The restriction is due to a 1989 amendment by the Conservatives to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, put in place when they privatised electricity supply.

But it no longer makes sense given the acute need to shift the UK’s power sector to low carbon, and the potential contribution that small scale renewables can make.

Gary Porter, Chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said: “There is a lot of enthusiasm in town halls to develop green energy to cut the power they use and save money. Councils have lots of buildings, from offices and leisure centres to houses and flats, depots and community centres that could be transformed into local green power stations.”

Pioneering councils

Bristol is one council with schemes in the pipeline that will benefit from this change including two 2-3 megawatt wind turbines off the Severn Estuary, on council land, in the Avonmouth Industrial Area.

In advance of a visit to Woking Borough Council’s clean energy projects, Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said: “Forward thinking local authorities such as Woking in Surrey have been quietly getting on with it, but against the odds, their efforts frustrated by the law.

“I’ve today written to all councils urging them to take advantage and lead a local energy revolution.

“This is a vital step to making community renewable projects commercially viable, to bring in long-term income to benefit local areas, and to secure local acceptance for low carbon energy projects.”

Woking Borough Council is at the forefront of local authorities already investing in clean energy projects, and will be able to benefit from the change in the law. Through Thameswey Limited, a company wholly owned by the local authority, green electricity is generated across the Borough and provided to local customers by way of private wires.

Since 1990, Woking has been developing a combined heat and power network, solar generation, a high efficiency housing project and linking community buildings fitted with small scale renewables into local energy networks run by its community-owned energy supply company.

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