The presentation that effectively forms the WECA Regional Strategy to be submitted to BEIS is now available. CSE have also published a news piece about their report, to which BEN contributed through the stakeholder event in February 2018.
WECA is meeting to agree this strategy on Friday 1st February and BEN has collaborated with its members to submit this statement and the following question:
“Bristol Energy Network, which represents over 20 member community energy organisations in Bristol and the wider area, welcomes the West of England Energy Strategy and studies, having participated in the stakeholder event in 2018, as a basis for strategy development and detailed action planning. Local community energy plays, and will continue to play, a fundamental role in our future energy system and it flourishes through a strong partnership between local authorities and their communities. We request therefore that the governance arrangements for the next stage of action planning include independent community energy representatives? This will ensure that this partnership working thrives and that the aspirations and needs of the community energy sector are at the forefront ,as envisioned by Claire Perry MP, when she spoke at our Energy Transitions conference in Bristol in October 2018.”
We’ll keep you updated on the outcome of Friday’s meeting.
WECA – is the West of England Combined Authority made up of the Bath&NE Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire local authorities