Net Zero Living podcast: Community Empowerment

How community energy turns local ambition into consent, ownership and delivery

Local councils are investing in clean energy projects that will improve the lives of residents and business owners. This podcast episode, led by Regen’s Poppy Maltby, examines how innovation can be more quickly adopted when community engagement moves from traditional consultation to two-way partnership.

Joining Poppy for this podcast is Fraser Stewart, Head of Local Energy Strategy at Great British Energy, Charlotte Norton from The Carbon Trust, and Alex Templeton from UK Community Works. The conversation moves through the challenges and opportunities of community engagement.

During the discussion, Fraser points out that when communities own assets and services, value can be reinvested into what matters most to local people, from tackling fuel poverty to improving local services and amenities. Charlotte explores some of the barriers to engagement, including the ability to access local communities, how much capacity people have to get involved, and the complexity of some of the emerging technology. Alex shares a standout case study from the Net Zero Living Programme, describing how Essex County Council focused on financial innovation as a way to make investing in local community energy projects more affordable for residents.

Together, the panel look ahead to the future and warn of a fast-evolving national landscape. They offer guidance to help local authorities define what community empowerment means to them, recognise how it can accelerate a clean energy transition, and use it to drive change for their local place.

Key findings

• Community engagement gives local people a meaningful stake in the energy transition, so they can turn clean power into wealth-generation.
• The biggest blockers tend to be lack of internal resources, struggles to access local communities, and overly complex areas of technology and innovation.
• Increased participation can lead to new planning and financing models, making community ownership and household upgrades feel possible, affordable, and desirable.