Small individual community groups including individual installations on buildings such as churches, community centres and schools, which may not be viable at reduced tariffs. Definition This consultation seeks views on the definition of installations and “community” the uses to which such a definition may be put. In developing such a definition, it is important that it targets the appropriate group, is not too wide, and can be legally implemented and enforced. The key areas that may be targeted by a definition are: Social enterprises: These include organisations that may be structured as businesses but which exist for the purposes of community benefit. These enterprises are recognised in various tax laws, including those that relate to FITs (e.g. the recent changes to eligibility for FITs for Venture Capital Trusts) so an enforceable legal definition exists and is well understood. The definition used by HMRC for this purpose is: generation or export is carried on by: “the (i) a community interest company; (ii) a co-operative society; (iii) a community benefit society; or (iv) a NI industrial and provident society.” There is a risk, however, that a definition based only on these criteria might be too wide. Further refining the definition to include a specific subset of community enterprises could be based on the organisation’s i.e. the articles of incorporation identify “primary purpose” organisation’s or or similar terms as its primary “renewable energy” “carbon reduction” purpose. This would however be difficult to define. Some organisations have suggested size as a further filter. This would exclude large national organisations, but would not limit application to community energy organisations. We are seeking views on options for refining the definition as part of the current consultation. Charities: These are regulated by the Charity Commission (in England and Wales) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. They are therefore straightforward to define and include in legislation. While it is difficult to justify including all charities regardless of their function or orientation, this does not preclude charities from setting up specific-purpose vehicles for the purposes of community energy that could be classified under (a) above. Social Housing: The definition of that could be targeted for “social housing” a special provision is complex because of the range of service providers in this area, and the fact that the providers may be involved in other activities as well as the provision of social housing. It may be appropriate only to target only installations that are located on social housing units and provide benefits to the tenants.
Small individual community groups including individual installations on buildings such as churches, community centres and schools, which may not be viable at reduced tariffs. Definition This consultation seeks views on the definition of “community” installations and the uses to which such a definition may be put. In developing such a definition, it is important that it targets the appropriate group, is not too wide, and can be legally implemented and enforced. The key areas that may be targeted by a definition are: Social enterprises: These include organisations that may be structured as businesses but which exist for the purposes of community benefit. These enterprises are recognised in various tax laws, including those that relate to FITs (e.g. the recent changes to eligibility for FITs for Venture Capital Trusts) so an enforceable legal definition exists and is well understood. The definition used by HMRC for this purpose is: “the generation or export is carried on by: (i) a community interest company; (ii) a co-operative society; (iii) a community benefit society; or (iv) a NI industrial and provident society.” There is a risk, however, that a definition based only on these criteria might be too wide. Further refining the definition to include a specific subset of community enterprises could be based on the organisation’s “primary purpose” i.e. the organisation’s articles of incorporation identify “renewable energy” or “carbon reduction” or similar terms as its primary purpose. This would however be difficult to define. Some organisations have suggested size as a further filter. This would exclude large national organisations, but would not limit application to community energy organisations. We are seeking views on options for refining the definition as part of the current consultation. Charities: These are regulated by the Charity Commission (in England and Wales) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. They are therefore straightforward to define and include in legislation. While it is difficult to justify including all charities regardless of their function or orientation, this does not preclude charities from setting up specific-purpose vehicles for the purposes of community energy that could be classified under (a) above. Social Housing: The definition of “social housing” that could be targeted for a special provision is complex because of the range of service providers in this area, and the fact that the providers may be involved in other activities as well as the provision of social housing. It may be appropriate only to target only installations that are located on social housing units and provide benefits to the tenants.
Final%20version%20of%20FITs%20scheme%20Phase%202B%20consultation%20document%20for%20publication%20%209%20february%202012.DOCX