In early autumn, a £10 million fund will be launched to support the government’s goals of reviving optimism and community pride.

The new government fund will assist rural and local communities around England in establishing local energy initiatives to create jobs and ensure energy security.

It will be available for both urban and rural communities to compete for a portion of the money.

Early in the autumn, the Community Energy Fund will accept applications.

This money will aid in beginning local people-proposed, designed, and owned initiatives such as small-scale wind farms, rooftop solar partnerships, battery storage, rural heat networks, electric vehicle charging stations, and fuel poverty alleviation plans.

Andrew Bowie, the minister for nuclear and networks, said: “Local communities are the core of our strategy to increase our energy security and expand the economy. Thanks to the Community Energy Fund for England, communities will be given the means to accomplish this.”

“With it, they can advance creative energy projects that will have a long-lasting beneficial effect, lowering costs, strengthening communities, and securing clean energy for future generations.” “By drawing additional funding from the corporate sector, these energy projects might reach beyond their immediate surroundings, influencing other communities to use English energy to power their regions.”

“The initiatives will provide people and businesses with inexpensive, secure, and clean homegrown energy, whether in a distant hamlet or a city neighbourhood. They will also assist homeowners in managing their own energy consumption to save costs and combat fuel poverty.” “Surplus funds from the schemes, which support local development, can directly support neighbourhood initiatives like community gardens and youth job programmes.”

“The fund can serve as a catalyst to draw private investment to scale up initiatives later, fostering growth and high-quality employment in the region. In turn, this will assist in realising the government’s goals of reviving confidence and pride in local communities as we work to create a better future for everyone in the nation.”

The purpose of today’s new Community Energy Fund, which broadened the scope to include renewable energy investment for both rural and urban communities, is to build on the success of the former Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF).

Like the Rural Community Energy money, the new money will be administered by Local Net Zero Hubs, which assist local governments in creating net zero projects and luring outside funding.

Projects like Congleton Hydro, which got financing from the Rural Community Energy Fund of £73,511, will be funded by the Community Energy Fund.

The Congleton Hydro project receives government assistance and generates affordable, secure, and clean electricity from a nearby weir, enough to power 60 households. Along with lowering local emissions, the project’s success has enabled the establishment of a yearly £5,000 fund for neighbourhood community initiatives. So far, this has helped fund a re-wilding initiative to preserve local wildlife and a youth empowerment initiative to promote local sustainability.

Congleton Hydro’s Bob Owen, a chartered engineer, said: “Congleton Hydro by Dane Vally Community Energy has benefited greatly from the Rural Communities Energy Fund (RCEF), which has enabled us to improve the system design and conduct additional environmental studies necessary to satisfy the local planning authority.”

“The aid provided by RCEF goes beyond financial assistance; they have been instrumental in facilitating guidance and help from a wide range of contacts. With the help of RCEF, we were also able to create a programme for re-wilding—helping nature—and an educational activity that focuses on environmental sustainability.”

“With additional funding from RCEF, we could define and construct the following hydro scheme based on a different iconic weir in Congleton Park and finance the study and implementation of a community solar project—the Community Share Prospectus. It is quite doubtful that either plan would have been implemented without the incubator financing provided by RCEF.”