Creating community infrastructure

Planning for energy is not just about technologies installed on individual buildings and sites. It also needs to consider the role of infrastructure used to manage energy and distribute it within a community. Heat networks in particular require development, as in most locations there is no equivalent to the electricity and gas distribution grids for heat. The benefits of community heat networks include

• Enabling waste heat from large scale power generation to be used
• Increasing number of potential customers with demand for the heat produced, and broadening the mix of different uses and different energy demands served. This will increase the viability of a heat generation  scheme such as combined heat and power (CHP)
• Providing the opportunity to supply existing buildings, making economies of scale by sharing energy centres and equipment
• Improving reliability and resilience of the heat supply by increasing the number of heat generators supplying heat to the properties connected

Although private electricity networks have been developed, they are less common and the costs more difficult to justify given the availability of the national grid in most locations and requirements for competition in the electricity supply market.

Other community infrastructure could include community-scale renewable or low carbon energy generating plant such as wind farms, or efficient logistics networks for distributing biomass.

A regional energy infrastructure strategy has been developed (see energy resources and infrastructure). This should be used to help identify what strategic infrastructure may be needed to support delivery of decentralised energy at the local level.

Where opportunities for community infrastructure are identified, measures to support their development can be included in the Local Development Framework (LDF) or other local strategies and plans, such as the Sustainable Community Strategy. Measures could include:

• A policy requirement for developments to connect to community heat and power networks, as used in Southampton and Woking
• A requirement for financial contributions from developers to help fund the infrastructure to which they will be connecting, as implemented in Milton Keynes
• Funding to enable third party provision and operation by an independent Energy Services Company (ESCO)
• Local Development Orders that permit development of specified types of infrastructure, simplifying the planning process for them
• Use of local authority land and connection of public sector buildings to the infrastructure provided

The pilot Energy Action Areas promoted by the London Plan have provided useful insights into the issues faced by planning bodies in promoting energy infrastructure. A range of useful guidance is available. www.lep.org.uk/library/reports/energy-action-areas.php

There are a number of delivery mechanisms which extend beyond planning, to encourage the development of community energy and the move to a low carbon economy. See making it happen.