Community energy

What is community energy?

Community energy schemes provide heat and/or power from one central source to multiple buildings. This might include homes, schools, uinversities, hospitals, leisure centres, prisons or offices. Schemes can range in size from one tower block with a central heat source for all the flats to citywide schemes connecting many public and commercial buildings.

Heat sources can include:

• Conventional boilers using conventional fuel such as gas or oil or renewable fuels (biomass, domestic or agricultural wastes).
• Combined heat and power (CHP) plant where the heat generated by electricity production is captured and used to generate more electricity or distributed via a heat network. About 1,300 sites in the UK utilise CHP and generate about 6 per cent of our electricity. More about combined heat and power.
• Using waste heat produced from industrial processes e.g. distilleries.

What are the benefits?

• Low cost heating and power.
• Improved energy efficiency - a centralised plant uses energy more efficiently, significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions and fuel costs.
• Reduced management costs and increased reliability.
• Ensure energy security through fuel flexibility.
• Enable compliance with EU Directive 19 on the Energy Performance of Buildings for any new buildings over 100m2.

For more information about the benefits click here.

Click here for community energy grants.

For community energy publications click here.

There are two European Union directives that affect community energy.   See the briefing notes on EU Directives influencing community heating and CHP and the EU emission trading scheme and communty energy programme for more information

Visit the Carbon Trust.