Community ownership and energy transition

This session is particularly relevant for places or groups which are advancing or interested in community wealth building. CLES and Carbon Co-op previously produced “A just energy transition through community wealth building”, a toolkit for local authorities which may be useful to review.

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“I really enjoyed the visit to Squash Liverpool, it was inspiring, we’d been talking about so many different things in workshops and then going on the visit made me realise it was possible to do it, possible for us to do similar.”

Sholver group member

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Delivery resources

• workshop tool: community ownership and the energy transition including an example workshop outline, additional learning resources and good practice case studies
• example content including example resources used during the delivery of Oldham Energy Futures

Purpose

This workshop is about building knowledge in the group of ownership and decision-making in relation to energy transition solutions. It has a specific focus on developing understanding of who shapes and owns the energy system at the neighbourhood level, what this means for people day to day, and how alternatively owned solutions can contribute to the energy transition. 

Who should be there?

• facilitators
• the neighbourhood group
• one workshop leader with expertise in community ownership and its importance in the local economy (see below for suggested organisations)
• nice to have: an expert witness from a community-owned, municipally-owned or otherwise generative project or business which will resonate with the group.

Organisations with relevant subject expertise

• CLES
• Stir to Action
• Co-operatives UK
• Power to Change
• New Economics Foundation
• Carbon Co-op

Key questions

• how are decisions made about energy? 
• how is energy owned and what does this mean for people at the local level in terms of bills? 
• how would the group like things to be owned, thinking about what is possible at the local level?
• what role does community ownership play in decarbonising our energy systems?

Participant outcomes

• an understanding of how ownership impacts their bills
• an awareness of the different forms of ownership that are possible at the local level
• an understanding of how different forms of ownership can drive additional benefits into the neighbourhood and the local economy.

Group outcomes

• an understanding of the potential for different forms of ownership in their neighbourhood
• the identification of opportunities for community ownership and/or public ownership of local energy solutions
• the ability to identify the other economic benefits (such as employment, skills and training) they would like to see in their neighbourhood as a result of energy transition solutions.

Tips

Use the same framework as in previous sessions: 

• how this applies to/impacts me 
• deeper understanding of the issues 
• how this applies to/impacts the community 
• mechanisms for change.

Start with what the group knows, such as how they spend their money on energy and who owns the energy infrastructure in their places. 

It may be useful to invite an expert to talk about the alternative forms of ownership which can be used to deliver energy transition solutions in a way that retains wealth in the local economy and amplifies benefits for the local area – for example, municipal ownership and community ownership. When exploring these alternative forms of ownership it is important to explore ownership across the energy themes, including transport, the delivery of energy services, and more well-known examples of community renewables.