Organised community groups have a potentially valuable role to play in helping their local residents decarbonize their energy use in an affordable way through community-buying schemes. The basic idea is that by clubbing together to purchase goods or services, quality can be improved and costs reduced. Community buying schemes also have the potential for reducing complexity when it comes to buying or installing equipment which residents may not be familiar with, such as solar panels.
Community buying schemes have been around for a while with details of some early examples in the UK Government’s Guide for Community Buying Groups which includes an early example of solar PV panel buying group (Transition Town Marlow’s 100 Solar Project). The community buying groups approach has also been used to try to help alleviate rural fuel poverty through bulk oil buying for residents in rural areas. For a more detailed assessment of how such schemes can work, see Citizen Advice Scotland’s report ‘Oil Buying Clubs – The Highland Experience’.