Empowering Urban Energy Transitions

Community at the heart of the city

Key takeaways

  • Community-focused initiatives can improve access to clean energy technologies, reduce costs and relieve strain on power systems. In the United Kingdom more than 200 000 people are engaged in projects and have contributed to reduced bills for participants worth over GBP 3 million.
  • Interest in community and local energy projects is growing, with some countries providing significant financial and technical support. In the European Union at least 2 million people are engaged in more than 7 700 community projects.
  • Implementation of community projects is on the rise, creating opportunities to learn and build on emerging best practices. Local solar development in the United States can create five more jobs on a per-megawatt basis than utility-scale solar generation.
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