Shared ownership presents an opportunity for communities to own part of the UK’s net zero energy transition while supporting faster, fairer rollout of clean power projects. This paper provides a comprehensive framework for how shared ownership can support a just energy transition, offering detailed actions for the UK government and GB Energy to harness its potential for people, planet and the UK's net zero mission.
With the UK government's ambitious plans for Clean Power by 2030, alongside GB Energy and the Local Power Plan, we face a pivotal moment to reshape how communities participate in and benefit from the energy transition. Shared ownership, where communities invest alongside developers in clean energy projects, offers a powerful mechanism for a faster and fairer rollout of clean power projects.
Our new paper, Sharing Power: unlocking shared ownership for a fast and fair transition, funded by the William Grant Foundation, provides a comprehensive framework for how shared ownership can support a just energy transition, offering detailed actions for the UK government and GB Energy to harness its potential for people, planet and the UK's net zero mission.
While shared ownership presents a major opportunity for communities to own part of the clean energy transition, it is critical to emphasise that it is not more 'fair' or 'just' by default. As such, there is a clear need to also reduce financial barriers to participation, ensure governance structures within shared ownership projects are inclusive and transparent, and for GB Energy and devolved government initiatives to identify and prioritise capacity support in lower-income, disadvantaged or marginalised communities. This paper sets out clear principles and practice suggestions that should guide shared ownership projects.
This report was produced with support from the William Grant Foundation.
Shared ownership can support a fast and fair transition to clean power. The UK government has set out big ambitions to achieve clean power by 2030, including 8 GW of local and community-owned energy. Shared ownership has the potential to be a critical component to achieving this mission quickly and fairly, accelerating development timelines and enabling wider social and economic value to people and communities in the process.
Shared ownership should be recognised as a national priority. Shared ownership increases public support for clean energy projects and the wider net zero mission. Prioritising shared ownership projects as 'needed' for Clean Power 2030, alongside a clear steer from the UK government to encourage fair, transparent and mutually beneficial shared ownership projects, can help unlock this on a bigger scale.
GB Energy should promote and enable shared ownership through a comprehensive community support scheme. Building on (and aligning with) leading examples from Scotland and Wales, capacity support for communities to develop the necessary skills and expertise can enable more shared ownership opportunities to be realised.
Greater access to finance for communities is critical for successful shared ownership projects. GB Energy should establish grant funding and no/low-interest loans for communities interested in pursuing shared ownership, alongside practical support for accessing debt finance.
Less affluent communities should be supported as a priority to benefit from shared ownership arrangements. To enable a more just transition, GB Energy should identify and support communities with less resource and capacity to work with experienced partners to deliver shared ownership arrangements, and consider stewarding an ownership stake in clean energy projects on behalf of a community.
Streamlining the administrative process can improve the proposition for developers. Developing more standardised processes for shared ownership projects, as well as template contracts and registers of local partners, can help to reduce overall costs and further reduce development timescales.
Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter containing industry insights, our latest research and upcoming events.
