Ripple Energy is calling on the new Labour government to remove financial penalties on members of the public who own their own source of renewable energy.
According to the developer, more and more people who are not able to have solar panels on their roofs, such as renters and those in flats, are now turning to energy cooperatives.
This allows them to own a small stake in large-scale wind farms and solar parks, receiving the green, low-cost electricity to their property via the grid and their supplier.
Ripple Energy is pioneering this movement in Britain, and is today launching a new “Own Your Power” campaign to make joining large-scale energy cooperatives a more accessible option by removing financial barriers.
Ripple founder and chief executive Sarah Merrick is part of a subgroup of London’s Onshore Wind Taskforce examining how to accelerate the roll out of renewables.
She said: “We are at a critical point in the UK’s energy transition, with the new government pledging to speed up renewables deployment and the biggest expansion in community energy in British history.
“At Ripple, we absolutely believe that is possible, but only by going big on people-owned power.
“We need lots of new wind farms and solar parks to achieve the government target of green power by 2030; people shouldn’t be locked out of the transition.
“Energy cooperatives are the solution. They democratise energy ownership by enabling people to be part of large-scale projects. Crucially, they also protect people against price hikes from the energy market and geopolitical volatility.”
While the government has already pledged its support for community energy projects, including backing cooperatives, more needs to be done to help people take the first step into renewable energy ownership, Ripple Energy argued.
This should be people not paying energy levies on electricity supplied to them from their own wind farm or solar park.
An exemption from the levies already exists but it requires the use of unlicensed energy suppliers or private wire networks, Ripple said.
It wants the exemption simplified so everyone who owns part of a large-scale wind farm or solar park cooperative can benefit.
Ripple also wants London to stop taxing bill savings and offering low cost loans and grants to people on low incomes to help them buy a share in a wind farm or solar park.
Merrick added: “We wholeheartedly support the government’s aim to unleash the biggest expansion of community energy in history.
“Energy cooperatives are communities in their own right, and by implementing these three simple asks, the true potential of community energy in Britain can be realised with nobody left behind or penalised for their contribution.”