Communities could get cash for hosting solar farms and offshore wind schemes
Under the plans, coastal communities who host infrastructure linked to offshore wind farms, and those in rural areas where new solar or wind farms are built, will receive money from energy developers to spend on their local priorities.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the level of payments could range from tens of thousands of pounds a year up to millions of pounds a year, depending on the size of the development.
The proposals would enshrine in law a requirement for renewable developers to pay into community benefit funds, with local people who are hosting the infrastructure needed to transform the UK's energy system to clean power able to choose what the money is spent on.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'If you live near an offshore wind or solar farm, your local community should benefit from supporting this nationally critical mission.
'The Prime Minister's mission to become a clean energy superpower is creating good well-paid jobs in these areas, building the infrastructure we need to get energy bills down for working people.'
He added it would revitalise coastal and rural communities by creating wealth, better facilities and energy security.
The Government has pledged to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030, as part of its plans to make the UK run almost entirely on clean energy by that point, as well as investing in carbon capture and storage, and long-term energy storage.
But while renewable technologies are largely popular with voters, they are often controversial in the local areas where large-scale solar farms, onshore wind or the infrastructure bringing offshore wind power onto land are sited.
The announcement builds on measure in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill where households within 500 metres of new or upgraded pylons and other transmission infrastructure will get electricity bill discounts of up to £2,500 over 10 years.
The Government is inviting views on the plans from industry and others until July 16, including which types of energy infrastructure – such as renewables, low-carbon energy generation and storage – should be required to pay into community benefit funds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
12 minutes ago
- Daily Record
New call for full State Pension for half a million older people after Winter Fuel Payment U-turn
Around 453,000 pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government. Pension Credit – Could you or someone you know be eligible? Earlier this week the UK Government announced Winter Fuel Payments will be reinstated for over 9 million pensioners later this year. The U-turn and Chancellor Rachel Reeves Spending Review on Wednesday have prompted calls from the 'End Frozen Pensions Campaign' for the annual State Pension uprating to be reinstated for around 453,000 retirees living in countries which do not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government. The campaign said it would cost the UK Government just under £60 million per year to end this 'historic wrong'. The policy, which prevents State Pensions from being increased annually - to counteract the impact of inflation for UK pensioners living in certain countries - means some are receiving as little as £60 per week, far below the current £176.45 rate for the Basic State Pension for those living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. John Duguid, Chair of the End Frozen Pensions Campaign, said: "The Government's U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments shows there is a common consensus that the most vulnerable in our society rely on such payments as essential lifelines during times of need. 'Victims of the Frozen Pensions scandal, who receive only a fraction of their full UK State Pension because they live in some countries overseas, should not be excluded from this rationale. Yet the Government's continued refusal to address this longstanding discrimination means they continue to suffer from often negligible levels of state support. 'These British pensioners, many of whom spent their working lives in the UK, receive on average just £60 per week compared to the more than £170 per week they would be entitled to in the UK, or a non-frozen country.' He added: 'Ending this historic wrong would cost just under £60 million per year. This would barely register in the overall State Pension budget. But this isn't only about cost, it is about the principle of treating British state pensioners fairly and equally. 'Similar to the Government's decision to reinstate Winter Fuel Payments, ending this scandal is the correct and morally just action to take. The Government should do right by those who paid fairly into the system, and ensure they have dignity in their retirement.' Last month, cross-party MPs united to intensify pressure on the UK Government over its refusal to reform the so-called 'frozen pensions' policy. Only British overseas pensioners living in specific countries - mostly within the Commonwealth - are impacted, in what Rebecca Smith MP described as "the ultimate postcode lottery'. Those in the USA see the same annual increase as British pensioners living in the UK or France, while those in Australia or Canada, see their State Pension remain 'frozen' and effectively fall in value. For example, 100-year-old Second World War veteran Anne Puckridge, who lived and worked in the UK until the age of 76 and served in all three of the RAF, Navy and the Army, has received just £72.50 per week since 2001, the year she moved to Canada to be nearer her daughter. Jim Shannon MP similarly questioned the logic of the policy applying in only some countries and not others, arguing 'the arbitrary distinction between countries with and without an operating agreement lacks logic and smacks of red tape and bureaucracy gone mad." The Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP, was mostly notably challenged on the estimated cost of ending the policy, which is estimated at £60m per year - 0.04 per cent of the annual State Pension budget - rather than the £950m per year quoted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The difference explained by the fact the DWP are quoting for uprating and backdating payments to account for the years affected pensioners have been frozen. However, campaigners are instead asking to receive the annual increase from this point onwards. Douglas McAllister MP stressed that campaigners and supportive MPs are 'not seeking a full backdating, but for the Government to introduce some form of yearly indexing to answer that injustice'. Longterm critic of the policy Sir Roger Gale MP argued the policy is 'not a matter of cost. It is a matter of moral responsibility and duty.' The Minister was also reminded by a number of MPs that 'the vast majority of impacted pensioners still report having no knowledge of the policy's existence prior to moving overseas'. State Pension payments 2025/26 Full New State Pension Weekly payment: £230.25 Fortnightly payment: £460.50 Four-weekly payment: £921 Annual amount: £11,973 Full Basic State Pension Weekly payment: £176.45 Fortnightly payment: £352.90 Four-weekly payment: £705.80 Annual amount: £9,175 Future State Pension increases The Labour Government has pledged to honour the Triple Lock or the duration of its term and the latest predictions show the following projected annual increases: 2025/26 - 4.1% (the forecast was 4%) 2026/27 - 2.5% 2027/28 - 2.5% 2028/29 - 2.5% 2029/30 - 2.5% Article continues below Recent analysis released by Royal London revealed only around half of people receiving the New State Pension last year were getting the full weekly amount - and around 150,000 were on less than £100 per week.
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Spending Review
For more information on the Winter Fuel Payment announcement for 2025/26, click here, you have received a suspicious message regarding your energy bills, report it by clicking here, apply for the Warm Homes Plan, click here, learn more about the how announcements made in the chancellor's Spending Review will effect you, click here.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Blow for Rachel Reeves as UK economy sees biggest fall since late 2023
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3% in April, compared with growth of 0.2% the previous month. It marks the biggest contraction since October 2023. It was also worse than the 0.1% contraction expected by most economists. ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said declining output in services and manufacturing sectors both dragged on overall GDP in April. READ MORE: Scottish Government 'short-changed by £1bn' by Rachel Reeves, Finance Secretary say She said: 'However, over the last three months as a whole GDP still grew, with signs that some activity may have been brought forward from April to earlier in the year.' She added: 'Both legal and real estate firms fared badly in April, following a sharp increase in house sales in March when buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of changes to stamp duty.' Reeves acknowledged that the latest GDP figures were 'clearly disappointing' but insisted her spending review would help deliver growth. The Chancellor said: 'Our number one mission is delivering growth to put more money in people's pockets through our plan for change, and while these numbers are clearly disappointing, I'm determined to deliver on that mission.' Speaking to Sky News, Reeves said 'uncertainty about tariffs' had contributed to a fall in GDP in April, the month Donald Trump announced sweeping levies on imports to the US. She said: 'We know that April was a challenging month. 'There was a huge uncertainty about tariffs, and one of the things, if you dig into those GDP numbers today, is exports weakening and also production weakening because of that uncertainty in the world around tariffs.' She added that the figures for April were 'disappointing, but also perhaps not entirely unexpected, given the uncertainty that is out there in the world at the moment'. April was dubbed "awful April" as it saw bill rises across a huge range of services including broadband, council tax, and energy bills.
