Developers must offer community benefits for green projects, Kwasi Kwarteng tells Sunak

Sam Hall, of the Conservative Environment Network, said: “High energy bills are front and centre in people’s minds going into this election. To reduce our exposure to expensive, imported fossil fuels, which are the root cause of high bills, we must build more homegrown renewable energy.

“Constituency-level polling shows most people are supportive of new renewables in their area. But too often a vocal minority, who are opposed, can cause delays and block planning approval.

"The government must seek to win over more local communities by ensuring they benefit from hosting new infrastructure.

“The government has taken welcome steps by introducing voluntary community benefits for transmission projects. But the government must now go further, introducing mandatory community benefits for both energy transmission and generation. This can help strengthen local support for new clean energy developments and unlock faster planning approval.”

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