M-RCBG Associate Working Paper No. 240
Sharing in a just transition:
How communities can benefit from decarbonising the grid
2024 Policy Analysis Exercise
Ollie Hamlet
Gabriel Moberg
Liv Novick
Executive Summary
The UK Government has committed to decarbonising the power system by 2035. The Labour Party intends to reach this goal sooner, by 2030. Achieving either goal requires an unprecedented increase in the delivery of renewable energy and transmission infrastructure. This will require communities across the UK to accept new energy assets at a pace and scale never experienced before.
Currently, too many communities feel that they experience the disadvantages of new energy infrastructure and benefit too little. Many complain that nearby energy development causes construction-related disruption, damage to the natural landscape, and a decline in local property values.
To address this problem, policymakers, developers, and communities are increasingly looking to community benefits schemes to play a role in sharing the benefits of decarbonisation. In 2023, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the National Infrastructure Commission, the Electricity Networks Commissioner, and the think tank Onward all published reports recommending a community benefits scheme.
Following a critical examination of policy reports; a survey of practices across Europe and North America; and interviews with 24 different expert stakeholders (developers, transmission operators, governments, and fund administrators), we add to the debate in the following ways:
1. We confirm that a mandatory UK-wide scheme would promote fairness and ensure host communities can share in the benefits of the net zero transition.
2. We estimate the annual cost to energy consumers of delivering community benefits under a 2030 target at around £362 million.
3. We cast doubt on the widespread claim that community benefits schemes – in isolation – will substantially accelerate the delivery of energy projects.