LONDON, July 13 (UPI) -- Allowing communities in the United Kingdom to sell their own energy will generate much needed revenue while ensuring energy security, officials said.
British Climate Change Minister Greg Barker launched the first stage of an effort to create self-sufficient energy markets at the community level.
"I want to see more homes, communities and businesses generating their own energy," he said. "We can literally bring power back to the people."
Chris Huhne, the British climate change secretary, last week said he would like to see local communities sell any electricity they are producing from renewable energy resources back to the national grid.
Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses have installed green energy technology through a cash incentive program, the British Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a statement.
The program unveiled by Barker includes projects that generate less than 50 kilowatts of energy and heat generating technologies less than 300 kW in size.
