LONDON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A British environmental group said lawmakers "hit the nail on the head" by getting in line behind community-level renewable energy projects.
The British Energy and Climate Change Committee said local communities should benefit from renewable energy developments in their areas with lower electricity bills or through a share of ownership.
Donna Hume, a campaigner for Friends of Energy, welcomed the call for financial support for renewable energy at the community level.
"Members of Parliament have hit the nail on the head," she said in a statement Tuesday. "The government should be doing much more to help small businesses, councils and schools save on fuel bills by generating their own clean power from renewable sources of energy."
The committee said giving communities a stake in local renewable projects could encourage greater public engagement in low-carbon initiatives and encouraging energy-conscious behavior.
"With some government support they could provide a significant proportion of the U.K.'s energy capacity while reducing carbon emissions and increasing efficiency," committee representative Alan Whitehead said in a statement.
British officials have set a goal of getting 30 percent of the country's electricity generated by renewable resources by 2020.
