From this week the public sector are allowed to sell electricity to the grid in the UK.
The move comes as Energy Secretary Chris Hulne tries to add momentum to the decentralisation of electricity production in the UK via the Feed in Tariff.
The Local Government Act of 1976 previously prevented local councils in England and Wales from selling electricity not produced alongside heat. The UK government now believes that local authorities should be leading the way when it comes to investing in small scale renewable energy.
Hulne said:
“For too long, Whitehall’s dogmatic reliance on ‘big’ energy has stood in the way of the vast potential role of local authorities in the UK’s green energy revolution. 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 taken the early step of overturning the ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity to the grid. 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.”
The Department of Energy & Climate Change says that 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.
If Hulne is right the move could mean up to £100 million a year in income for local authorities across England and Wales.
