Ripple’s People Power Manifesto
Help us to put people at the heart of the
UK’s green energy revolution
The UK’s energy landscape is changing. Its ownership needs to change too.
4 steps to put people at the heart of the UK’s green energy revolution.
1) 20% people power as standard
2) Stop owners double paying for green energy
3) No tax on bill savings
4) Interest-free loans so ownership is accessible for lower income households
It’s time to put people at the heart of the UK’s transition to a greener, cleaner and cheaper power system. Consumers who step up and collectively own unsubsidized green power projects should be able to realize maximum value from their ownership.
People should be able to own their own source of green, homegrown, low cost power for the long term. Ownership can protect against rising energy prices, reduce households’ emissions and build energy independence. The next Government needs to unlock the potential of collective, community ownership and enable everyone to get involved. The UK’s green energy assets should be open for ownership to people. Co-operative ownership of large scale wind farms and solar parks unlocks people power and puts people at the heart of the UK’s green energy transition.
The People’s Power Manifesto sets out four policies to democratize energy ownership and put power into the hands of millions of people across the UK.
20% people power as standard
20% of all new wind farm and solar park should be made available for purchase by households and business consumers. The UK needs a zero carbon electricity system, fast. This requires thousands of new wind turbines and hundreds of new solar parks.
Collective consumer ownership should be baked into all new green energy projects, enabling millions of households to benefit. Everyone, whether living near a new wind farm or solar park, or further afield, should have the opportunity to own part of the UK’s new energy infrastructure and benefit directly.
Purchase would be at full commercial rates, just like selling part of a project to a pension fund. Consumer owners can then benefit from the green, low cost power from their project. To enable a Just Transition low cost loans should be available for people on low incomes to buy their share of new projects.
Stop double paying for green energy
Consumers shouldn’t pay green energy levies on electricity received from their own unsubsidised wind farm or solar park. A typical household currently pays £140 per year in green energy subsidies, even if all of their electricity comes their own unsubsidised wind farm or solar park. A levy exemption is needed to prevent consumer owners double paying for green power.
Consumers who own unsubsidised wind farms and solar parks can, over the life of their project, pay more in subsidies to someone else’s wind farm or solar park as they do to buy their share of their own project.
The administrative process for levy exemptions already exists, enabling an exemption to be introduced quickly.
No tax on bill savings–bring in line with home solar
It is crazy to tax some owners’ energy bill savings. Owning wind farms and solar parks can reduce owners’ electricity bills, just like solar panels do. Bill savings from ownership of off-site green electricity assets can be subject to tax, whilst savings and income from home solar assets is exempt.
Ownership of a wind farm or solar park should be treated the same as having solar panels on your home. A tax relief should be introduced to ensure people can retain all the savings from the green electricity generated by their wind farm or solar park.
Interest-free loans so ownership is accessible for lower income households
Interest-free loans should be made available for low income households to buy a share of a wind farm or solar park. To enable a just and inclusive green transition, it is important those on low incomes can access green energy ownership.
Repayment of the loans could be gathered at source, minimising the risk of default. Low-interest loans should be made available to all other households to turbocharge consumer ownership of large scale renewables.
The People Power Pledge
We ask parliamentary candidates to sign the People Power Pledge and commit to helping democratize green energy ownership when in Parliament.
I pledge to help unlock People Power when in Parliament by:
✓ Ensuring 20% of all new green energy projects are opened for consumer ownership
✓ Stopping consumers paying green levies on their own green power
✓ Introducing tax relief on electricity bill savings
✓ Providing interest-free loans for lower-income households
