Community schemes in Shrewsbury and Walsall show the future of energy provision in the UK - Ed Milband

Communities do brilliant things in their local areas when they have the power and resources to make it happen.

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We see that in thousands of community owned pubs and libraries, cooperative businesses, and community energy projects in the West Midlands and across Britain.

Today the government is launching a historic plan to invest in many more projects like this around the country.

Over the last 18 months we have delivered record investment in clean energy from renewables and nuclear to get Britain off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and bring down bills for families.

But as we build this future, the government is not neutral about who owns our energy.

We want to ensure communities not only benefit from clean energy but have the opportunity to own it themselves.

That is why we are working with Great British Energy, our publicly owned energy company, to deliver up to £1 billion of funding for local and community energy—the biggest public investment in community energy in British history.

Our Local Power Plan is about putting power in the hands of the communities and local authorities who know their areas best.

It will help power community buildings like libraries, leisure centres and miners’ welfare clubs- with funding targeted at the places that need it most.

And we are getting started right away.

Today Great British Energy has announced £81,795 to install solar panels and heat pumps at Bayston Hill Parish Council in Shropshire.

This comes alongside backing for clean power projects across the Midlands, from solar and EV charging at Bloxwich Active Living Centre in Walsall to a community-led local energy network in Birmingham.

This is about working hand in hand with communities and local authorities to develop projects that give people a stake in the places they live and builds local pride and prosperity.

Today’s announcement builds on the government’s £5 billion Pride in Place Programme, which has awarded funding to almost 30 neighbourhoods and 7 local authorities across the West Midlands.

And it follows Great British Energy’s work to install solar on the roofs of schools and hospitals around the region to cut their bills, including grants for Coventry College and Sidney Stringer Academy, and NHS buildings across Sandwell & West Birmingham.

From cutting bills for public services to unleashing a community ownership revolution, we are building a different kind of economy—place by place, community by community—as we take back control of Britain’s energy.

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero