Control energy locally. Our energy doesn’t need to be delivered by big corporations for increasingly high prices. We will argue for the establishment of socially-owned companies to drive investment in energy efficiency and low-carbon energy, such as combined heat and power (CHP) and micro-renewable systems. Local authorities will be supported to create municipal utility companies under public control, which deliver clean energy, cheaper heating and the opportunity for profits to be ploughed back into public services.
More community renewable energy generation. By devolving energy generation we can have more resilient communities delivering energy for a fair price while mitigating the effects of climate change. We will look to extend the Scottish Government target for renewable energy capacity to 1GW provided by community renewables and 1GW from locally owned projects by 2030 – that’s quadrupling our supply in 15 years.
Help for communities. Scottish Greens support measures to make available greater levels of grants, loans and financial advice for communities setting up new renewable energy schemes and to assist them to connect to the national grid.
Community buy-outs. We support the case for community buy-outs of renewable energy schemes on Scotland's largest estates, and recognise this may need further legislation beyond the current Land Reform proposals.