Local Energy Scotland

Local Energy Scotland (“LES”), which delivers the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (“CARES”), appointed QMPF to complete a market engagement exercise in relation to community shared ownership in renewable energy projects.

Shared ownership models give community groups the chance to invest in local commercially-owned renewable energy developments. The Scottish Government has been encouraging developers to consider offering shared ownership opportunities as standard on new renewable energy projects.

The exercise sought to better understand stakeholder requirements, to help structure shared ownership opportunities and enable communities to seek external finance to fund their investment requirement. QMPF engaged with renewable energy developers, community groups, and funders with experience in shared ownership projects.

We summarised the findings in a report which has been published on the LES website.

This report summarises findings from market engagement discussions with developers and community group funders to understand:

• Developers’ and funders’ experiences with shared ownership projects.
• Typical proposals extended to community groups for shared ownership investment.
• The diversity of models deployed in shared ownership projects and their implications for community groups.
• The dynamics of engagement between developers, communities, and funders.
• Available funding avenues for community groups and their influence on the groups’ investment abilities.
• Security measures available in shared ownership projects for community groups.
• Challenges encountered in these projects, along with recommendations to improve the process and enhance stakeholder engagement.

The full report is accessible on the Local Energy Scotland website.

If you would like to discuss this report or how we could support you in shared ownership projects, please get in touch.