The decarbonisation of energy systems is leading to a reconfiguration of the geographies of energy. One example is the emergence of community energy, which has become a popular object of study for geographers. Although widely acknowledged to be a contested, capacious, and flexible term, "community energy" is commonly presented as singular, bounded, and localised. In this paper, we challenge this conception of community energy by considering evidence about the role and influence of three categories of actors: community, state, and private sector. We demonstrate how community energy projects are unavoidably entangled with a diversity of actors and institutions operating at and across multiple scales. We therefore argue that community energy is enabled and constituted by trans-scalar assemblages of overlapping actors, which demands multi-sectoral participation and coordination. We point to the need for further academic attention on the boundaries between these actors to better understand the role of different intermediary practices and relationships in facilitating the development of decentralised energy systems with just outcomes.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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UK Local Authorities are increasingly declaring 'climate emergencies' and pledging 100% clean energy and carbon neutrality ambitions for their locality, despite lack of powers over energy systems. Our research investigates current Local Authority engagement in clean energy, and considers prospects for meso-scale innovation. The analysis centres on Local Authority energy plans and investments across the four UK countries and English regions.Local Authorities are allocated to one of four categories of engagement from energy 'laggards' through to 'leaders'. Findings reveal that, despite lack of direct powers, a high proportion of Local Authorities have developed sustainable energy plans and projects, but only a minority manage to combine these into a more strategic local energy programme. There was proportionately greater activity in Scotland and considerable variation was found across English regions. We conclude that variation in levels of engagement relates to divisions of responsibilities between different levels of government. The capacity for Local Authoritymediated social innovation to support development of a clean UK energy system is discussed.Implications for policy include the need for a statutory power, and commensurate resources, for Local Authorities to ensure a more comprehensive and systematic contribution to clean energy innovation.

Local and decentralised energy initiatives increasingly contribute to decarbonising energy systems. This trend is facilitated by emergence of new actors, ownership modes, business practices, and value sources in energy markets. However, there is no systematic account of the businesses which comprise this emerging sector in the UK, and there are no standardised criteria for what may constitute a "local", potentially "smart", sector. Through development, and descriptive statistical analysis, of a database of legally-constituted energy businesses, we therefore provide a first characterisation of the local energy business sector in the United Kingdom. We develop qualitative indicators to categorise businesses according to their position in a matrix showing degrees of "localism" and "smartness". Our findings reveal an emergent sector comprising diverse organisations, including those with limited energy market experience. Embryonic business innovations are being translated into various revenue sources. However, most businesses have as yet made limited use of digital systems for smart operation; likewise, despite distinctive forms of localism, many aspects remain to be addressed. This finding implies opportunities for this sector to create value through more extensive orientation to localism and smartness. Further research is needed, using more detailed surveys of a representative sample of local energy businesses.