They have a long-term interest in the success of their communities, but many face challenges in identifying projects, developing the business case for investment and securing relevant sources of finance.

This programme – supported by BEIS, and run by UK100 and the Leeds Climate Commission – seeks to address those challenges by bringing local authorities, developers and investors together. The aim is to accelerate the development of a pipeline of investor-ready clean energy projects.

Local authority frontrunners have generated ideas, developed business models and secured finance for innovative low-carbon projects around the UK. They show that it can be done, and there’s much to learn from them.

We have gathered their experiences here.These examples point to the need for a serious long-term commitment from national, regional and local government. Regulations need to support the transition to clean energy to benefit the consumer and give business confidence. Capacity needs to be built and made available to local authorities if the experiences of these frontrunners are to become the norm across the UK.