DECC and the Welsh Assembly Government have published a Consultation Paper on whether local authorities should be empowered to sell electricity generated by renewable sources. At present, local authorities can only sell electricity generated by CHP plant.

Arguably, the proposed new regulations, which would be made under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, do not go far enough, as they would in effect restrict local authorities to the sale of renewable electricity produced on site or distributed through a private network exclusively powered by renewable sources. More ambitious changes would be required to enable local authorities, for instance, to sell subsidised electricity from grid-connected wind farms to local residents. Such arrangements could help in gaining local support for wind farm projects and would provide a much closer link between the financial and environmental benefits of a wind farm and the community which lives in its shadow.

The Consultation Paper can be found here.

Paul Brennan, Head of Morgan Cole's Energy and Environment team can be contacted on 0118 955 3004 or by email.