Revisiting urban energy initiatives in the UK: Declining local capacity in a shifting policy context

What is ‘local’ about Smart Local Energy Systems? Emerging stakeholder geographies of decentralised energy in the United Kingdom

“…SLES is a term most prevalent in the UK. However it shares commonalities with a range of other ideas seen worldwide, including urban energy [20], smart energy systems [49], clean energy communities [41], distributed energy systems [50], multi [carrier] energy systems [51,52], renewable energy communities [40], and [integrated] community energy systems [42,47]. SLES reflect the UK government's move away from community energy and toward a 'local energy' approach, a move that is said to threaten "grassroots, citizen-led action" [11; p. 894].…”

“…Shaped by these five ideas, what makes an energy project 'local' may also have a profound effect on broader successes, including energy justice at the host community scale [18] 3 , support, and project replication. In a study that examined the durability of decentralised urban energy initiatives in the UK, Rydin and Turcu [20] found that small, community or civil societyinstigated projects were more likely to survive and thrive over time compared with those that were reliant on particular policy or investment opportunities. In writings on decentralisation [21] and community energy [6], the common assumption is that such projects are more 'successful' at the neighbourhood or host community-level because they allow for increased 'local' citizen participation/engagement, which can often lead to higher levels of support or acceptance [22].…”

Governing the Circular Economy in the City: Local Planning Practice in London

“…In recent years, English planning is shifting under the national government's austerity agenda, towards a deregulated, market-led and devolved framework (Ferm and Tomaney, 2018). Local government undergoes substantial budget cuts with concomitant dispersal of power to the public through the localism agenda and outsourcing capacity to the private sector (Raco, 2018;Rydin & Turcu, 2019;Turcu, 2018b). The extent to which municipalities can implement CE in London is determined by the wider reality of English austerity, which interferes with the translation and operationalisation of CE in planning practice.…”

Community versus local energy in a context of climate emergency

“…LE is underpinned by a neoliberal ideology, which views economic growth and prosperity as important goals for society that can be facilitated through energy actions. From a neoliberal perspective, market actors, working with and coordinated by public authorities, are more optimal ways to deliver energy services than grassroots initiatives (18).…”

“…Third, community-led initiatives are more enduring over time than decentralised energy projects led by public or private sector actors that depend on specific policies or investment opportunities (18). A study tracking 178 decentralised urban energy initiatives over a ten year period found that changing policy frameworks led to the end of projects directly connected to specific instruments that offered grants, subsidies or incentives (e.g.…”