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<p>I am really impressed by the work community groups up and down the United Kingdom
are already doing to help their wider communities decarbonise and get involved in
this transition.</p><p> </p><p>In the Clean Growth Strategy, I announced the creation
of a Local Energy Contact Group and a Local Energy Programme. The Contact group made
up of communities, local authorities and local enterprise partnerships and provides
local insight for policy teams across BEIS.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Energy Programme
has funded Local Energy Strategies in every Local Enterprise Partnership. These strategies
will feed into the newly developed Local Energy Hubs, also funded by BEIS to create
capacity and capability to help Local Authorities deliver low carbon energy projects
at scale.</p><p> </p><p>I have brought the Rural Community Energy Fund into my department
to allow it to integrate better with the other work we are doing on heat and local
ownership. Together with the Local Energy Programme, that will be almost £20m committed
by this Government to support local energy in the last three years. Alongside this
we have launched Prospering from the Energy Revolution, a £100m innovation fund designed
to support local areas demonstrate future integrated energy systems.</p><p> </p><p>This
funding will unlock commercial investment in our local energy system and following
a successful national Local Green finance event in Leeds in January, we will be supporting
five regional events this summer to bring investors and local projects together.</p><p>The
Government has a clear vision for an energy system which fairly rewards flexibility
for the value it provides to the system.</p><p> </p><p>We have set out in our The
Smart Systems & Flexibility Plan, and in the Progress Update in October 2018,
a number of actions to open up markets to distribution-connected flexibility, including
community energy groups. We are also consulting on a range of changes to the energy
market which offer communities a chance to have their say, and ensuring consumers
are at the heart of the future energy system.</p>
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