Community energy has the funding. It still lacks the market.

Oct 8

3 min read

Community energy has never had more political support. The Local Power Plan, launched in February 2026, backs up to £1bn from Great British Energy to support at least 1,000 community and local energy projects by 2030.

Yet the rules that would let a community sell its power to its neighbours are still not in place.

What the Government said

In June 2026, the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee published Get connected: How community energy can turbocharge the transition. The Government's response followed in September.

Export floor price: rejected. The Committee wanted to replace the Smart Export Guarantee with a 15- to 20-year guaranteed floor price. The Government disagreed, arguing it would leave taxpayers or bill payers covering any shortfall. Instead, it will consult on making export payments quicker and simpler.
Local supply: partially agreed. The Government is exploring options but is largely waiting on P441, a change to the Balancing and Settlement Code.
P441: delayed again. P441 would put local energy markets on a firmer regulatory footing. On 27 August 2026, Ofgem sent it back so its timetable can align with linked changes to other industry codes.

The message for anyone planning a project: do not build a business case on export income or local trading rules that do not yet exist.

Local energy is not always community energy

People often use different words as if they mean the same thing. They do not.

Community energy is about ownership. The community owns the asset and keeps the value.
Local energy is about geography. Power is generated and used nearby, regardless of who owns it.

There is a second distinction. In a true peer-to-peer market, local generators sell directly to local consumers. Most current arrangements are peer-to-network: a licensed supplier still sits in the middle, buying, topping up and billing. Peer-to-network works today. True peer-to-peer needs regulatory change that is still some way off.

The value is behind the meter

If exporting is poorly rewarded and local trading is constrained, the answer is to use more power where it is generated.

A private wire network can link generation and demand across a site without crossing the public network. Add battery storage behind the meter, and the site can balance demand, on-site generation, imports and exports as one system. Every kilowatt-hour used locally is one not sold cheaply and bought back at a higher price.

Not just for communities

Construction sites, festivals, and sporting events face the same problem, but with different ownership of the energy assets. They typically run on a scattered mix of generators, PV, batteries and loads, each managed separately. But when coordinated as one microgrid, they burn less fuel and cost less to run.

Where Cygnus fits

Cygnus is Swanbarton's microgrid management platform. It uses historical data and generation forecasts to optimise power flows across any mix of generation, storage and demand, regardless of hardware vendor.

Diesel-based sites: fuel savings of more than 30%.
Sanepa Apartments, Kathmandu: 50 kWp of solar and 200 kWh of storage shared across a residential building, eliminating diesel generation.
Portsmouth International Port: Swanbarton has developed energy management for storage at the port since the PESO project.

Whether you are a community group, a private wire operator, a grid-connected business or running a temporary site, the principle is the same: make the most of the energy you already have.