The energy transition cannot be designed from the top down alone. To succeed, it must be powered by local knowledge, shaped by community ambitions, and underpinned by credible local data. 

For almost a decade, Energy Systems Catapult has pioneered Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP) – a whole energy systems, place-based methodology that enables local authorities, network operators, businesses, and communities to co-create evidence-based pathways to decarbonisation. These plans do not just model abstract futures; they ground national policy in the everyday realities of people’s homes, streets, and local economies. 

The impact has been significant. Around one in six local authorities across England and Wales are already either developing or have already completed a LAEP. The approach is saving time, reducing duplication, and building stakeholder consensus. Crucially, it is creating the kind of trusted, impartial evidence that public sector leaders and private investors need to unlock low-carbon projects at scale. 

From local plans to regional strategies 

The influence of LAEPs extends beyond the local. Ofgem’s creation of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and its commitment to deliver Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) reflects lessons learned from the Catapult’s work. RESP is designed to ensure that network investment and strategic infrastructure planning are informed by the needs, opportunities, and ambitions of places. In other words: a bottom-up approach at the heart of regional and national planning. 

Without local evidence, the risk is clear: infrastructure may be over- or under-sized, investments mistimed, and community priorities overlooked. With robust local input, RESP can instead act as a bridge, aggregating hundreds of individual LAEPs into a coherent national energy strategy that works from the ground up. 

The UK Power Networks example 

The value of this bottom-up approach is already visible. When UK Power Networks incorporated insights from 32 local authority LAEPs into its Distribution Future Energy Scenarios, it didn’t just refine its models. It accelerated 70 new asset investments, bringing forward capacity that better reflects the real-world roll-out of solar, heat pumps, and electric vehicles. This is a powerful proof point: local data isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s essential to ensuring the right infrastructure is built, in the right places, at the right time. 

Why local input matters 

Local communities understand their needs best. They know where housing growth is happening, where transport hubs are being expanded, and where businesses are looking to invest. By embedding this knowledge in formal energy planning, LAEPs empower local leaders to shape their own energy futures while contributing to national goals. 

Moreover, local engagement builds trust. When residents can see how their input shapes the outcome, whether it’s cleaner air, warmer homes, or cheaper bills, the transition becomes not only technically feasible but socially sustainable. 

A call to action 

As RESP takes shape, the UK has an opportunity to lead the world in whole-systems, place-based energy planning. To realise that vision, it is vital that the local voice is heard, amplified, and embedded into every decision. 

Net Zero success will not be delivered in Whitehall or in corporate boardrooms. It will be built street by street, community by community, powered by local data, local ambitions, and local action. 

And that is why at the Catapult we believe passionately that local areas need to have a data rich evidence base to help make the decisions around what, where and how many and when.