Community Energy and the new DfE Strategy

NICE and Drumlin, the two energy co-operatives in NI, have jointly promoted community energy since 2020. The joint-committee prepared a position paper on the growth of community energy at the end of 2020 and gained the support of a wider stakeholder group that included organisations and individuals with a track record in community-led energy initiatives such as the Fermanagh Trust, Bryson Energy, Grass Root Renewables, Rathlin Development and Community Energy and the Handiheat Project among others.

Co-operative Alternatives, convener of the joint committee, supports the recently completed community energy response to the Energy Strategy Options Paper published by the Department for the Economy. Tiziana O’Hara said, ‘We strongly believe that community-led energy projects represent an opportunity to increase co-operatives in NI and they will ultimately contribute to a fair and just transition to a green economy.’

The final Energy Strategy for NI is expected to be published by the end of 2021.

To read the initial position paper, click here community energy response to the recent DfE consultation here.