With the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction scheduled to kick off this June, community projects have been given a special preference category as part of the auction design. The question remains, will this be enough to spark a change in how we develop, operate and own assets in the future? Community ownership of renewable assets is touted as a key part of our future energy system as we attempt to evolve our grid to a more decentralised model.
The auction design allows for three separate preference categories; community projects, solar and all projects. Each of these categories has been given a representative maximum quantity that can be awarded as set out in the draft Terms and Conditions. The allowable quantities for each category are:
- Community projects – 30GWh
- Solar projects – 300GWh
- All projects – 3,000GWh