With Labour taking power after pledging to make Britain a ‘clean energy superpower’, players in the co-op sector are calling on the government to remove financial penalties on members of the public who own their own source of renewable energy.
Ripple Energy, a community-owned co-op, has made a call for ministers to remove taxes on bill savings gained from renewable energy co-op membership, which can cut bills by 40%.
“While rooftop solar has been the mainstream method of harnessing renewables for households and businesses,” says Ripple, “more and more people who aren’t able to have solar panels, such as renters and those in flats, are now turning to energy coo-peratives. It 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.”
To promote this trend, Ripple has launched the Own Your Power campaign to make joining large-scale energy co-ops a more accessible option by removing financial barriers.
It also want the newly launched, state-owned GB Energy business to make low-cost loans or grants available to those on lower incomes who want to buy a share of a wind farm or solar park.
Related: Renewables co-op Ripple signs deal with Good Energy
Ripple Founder and CEO Sarah Merrick is part of a subgroup of the government’s Onshore Wind Taskforce, examining how to accelerate the roll-out of renewables.
She said: “We’re 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’s 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 co-operatives 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.”
Ripple is making three recommendations:
- A simple and accessible levy exemption for green energy ownership. “People should not pay energy levies on electricity supplied to them from their own wind farm or solar park,” says Ripple. “A typical household could pay £2,000 to buy a share of a wind farm to supply their power, then pay a further £1,800 in levies to subsidise someone else’s wind farm. An exemption from the levies already exists but it requires the use of unlicensed energy suppliers or private wire networks. We want the exemption simplified so everyone who owns part of a large-scale wind farm or solar park cooperative can benefit.”
- Stop taxing bill savings. Bill savings from cooperative energy ownership can be liable to tax, as savings are treated as interest income for tax purposes. For some members this reduces how much they save on their electricity bill by as much as 40%. Ripple is calling for tax relief for co-operative energy ownership as is the case for home solar owners.
- Financial support. “GB Energy should make available low cost loans or grants for people on lower incomes to help them buy their share of a wind farm or solar park,” says Ripple. “Home solar is often out of reach for low income households. However, with financial support, access to renewable energy can still be possible for lower income households by joining a co-operative.”
“We wholeheartedly support the government’s aim to unleash the biggest expansion of community energy in history,” added Merrick. “Energy co-operatives 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.”
