The report notes that initiatives such as community-owned solar panels, wind turbines and hydro-electricity generators, as well as energy-saving projects, could make a large difference in tackling climate change.
The UK Government has unveiled a new community energy strategy to help small-scale schemes get off the ground, but the researchers say better policy support is needed to increase grass-roots development of energy projects.
The research team from UEA and the University of Sussex looked at 12 small scale projects including a solar panel project in Brighton, a home energy efficiency programme in Bristol, hydro-electricity generation in Cumbria and a community island buy-out on the Isle of Gigha, Scotland.
The study also involved interviewing people responsible for getting community energy projects off the ground.
UEA school of Environmental Sciences lead researcher Gill Seyfang said the combined pressure of global climate change and threats to energy security mean that the UK will have to think more radically about sustainable energy.
"The Community Energy Strategy has adopted many of our recommendations for supporting mentoring and intermediary organisations, but much more still needs to be done," Seyfang said.
"A huge priority is for government to recognise that many community energy projects are aiming to tackle fuel poverty and develop stronger communities, as well as generating or saving energy. Evaluation and performance monitoring really needs to value these different kinds of results, and not simply focus on the amounts of energy produced."
Image: The research team from UEA and the University of Sussex looked at 12 small scale projects. Photo: Courtesy of University of East Anglia.
