NEWSPost India

Communities have been called upon to become more energy self sufficient by climate change minister Greg Barker. Speaking at the Combined Heat and Power Association annual conference, Mr Barker claimed that communities generating their own green energy were a “perfect expression of the transformative power of the Big Society”.

“With the right combination of incentives and freedoms … They can generate their own heat and electricity, and their own profits, and as a by-product, help the UK to save energy and help to cut carbon emissions,” he added. Mr Barker also used his keynote speech to launch the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Community Energy Online website, which offers information on generating low carbon heat and power.

Earlier this year, the DECC overturned previous regulations which prevented local councils from selling power back to the National Grid. From August 18th, councils have been permitted to take advantage of the incentives offered for green energy production, including the Feed-in Tariff, which could potentially open up £100 million of income a year.