Community Energy England today says in a statement that it believes the party’s plans published yesterday “have the potential to transform Britain’s energy system through local action on climate which benefits local people”.

Labour’s promises unveiled yesterday back the party’s earlier pledges towards local energy. They include making targeted energy grants to local authorities from a £600 million pot, and low interest loans made direct to community groups from a pool of £400 million.

The party’s manifesto for 4 July declares “Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix and reduces pressures on the transmission grid. Labour will deploy more distributed production capacity through our Local Power Plan. Great British Energy will partner with energy companies, local authorities, and co-operatives to install thousands of clean power projects, through a combination of onshore wind, solar, and hydropower projects.

“We will invite communities to come forward with projects, and work with local leaders and devolved governments to ensure local people benefit directly from this energy production.”

In its statement Community Energy England endorses probable energy secretary Ed Miliband’s view that such backing can “kick-start thousands of transformational local energy project”.

“Labour’s Local Power Plan offers grants for local authorities and low interest loans for community energy organisations to do new local, community-led and owned clean energy projects“, the CEE’s statement says.

“Over five years, this could deliver 8 gigawatts of solar and onshore wind – the equivalent of 2.5 nuclear power stations – enough to power 4.35 million homes”.

CEE chief executive Emma Bridge went on, “We welcome the Labour manifesto’s plan to grow our fantastic community energy sector and unlock huge benefits for local people.

“Community energy projects deliver 12 to 13 times the benefit of commercial energy installations. So they are uniquely suited to engage local people to participate in the energy transformation. Labour’s Local Power Plan is a win, win, win for communities, local economies and the country,” said Bridge

In 2021, the Environmental Audit Committee advised the government that “due to the urgency of the climate crisis and the vital roles communities will have to play in reaching net zero, it is essential… to support the long-term growth of community energy across the UK.” Chris Skidmore MP in his Review of the Government’s Net Zero Policies recommended that the government “turbocharge community energy.”

“The Labour manifesto and their Local Power Plan demonstrate that the party understands that empowering people and communities to take local climate action, which will also benefit local people, is essential to achieving net zero.

“We are pleased to see real backing for community energy in the Liberal Democrat and Green manifestos too”, noted Bridge.

“All parties with plans to meet the scale of the climate challenge share the consensus that community energy is crucial for any serious climate policy programme.

“We are disappointed that the Conservative manifesto, despite stretching to 80 pages, does not mention community energy at all. The Conservatives’ manifesto doubles down on commitments to invest more in fossil fuels, including new gas power stations, while continuing to block renewable energy developments”.

Bridge says restrictions on new onshore wind turbines have effectively stopped new ones being built in England, with just a handful of new turbines being built per year.  The Conservatives’ programme as set out in its manifesto would slow down progress towards net zero and cement our dependence on fossil fuels for years to come”.

Personal voting intentions differ among CEE officials, as influenced by the parties’ varying stances in relation to the burgeoning co-operative sector.

This week CEE policy manager Duncan Law shared with a public meeting of south London co-op SE24 Community Energy his intention to vote Green, due to their support for local, accountable actions in response to the climate emergency.

Former Conservative energy minister Chris Skidmore last week told a London solar conference that he was ‘politically homeless’, after he resigned his Bristol seat last year in disappointment at the Sunak’s administration’s foot-dragging over green issues.   The West County former MP told delegates that the future of energy is local, citing the achievements of co-ops such as Bath and West Community Energy.

Outside the activities of its volunteer-run co-operatives, today’s CEE statement welcomes Labour’s pledge to double onshore wind capacity by 2030. It notes that new onshore turbines in England have been held back since David Cameron’s Conservatives introduced a de facto ban nine years ago.

Interest declared:  The present author has for several years invested in and volunteered for several community energy co-ops across London and the South East.

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Working with Lewes-based prize-winning co-operative Community Energy South (CES), the money from UK Power Networks will help as many as 20 community organisations & charities with grants of at least £50,000 in support of bill-payers in peril of falling behind in the nation’s transition to Net Zero.

UKPN believes energy groups including co-operatives play a key role in supporting vulnerable customers. This work will put boots on the ground, helping pay for local jobs for local people, towards a goal of reaching 20,000 people and conducting over 1,200 in-person home visits.

An award-winning not-for-profit consultancy providing mentoring to speed growth in the community energy sector, Community Energy South (CES) has been awarded funds to enlist and support the participating groups in delivering the work. This partnership will be crucial in ensuring the right support is established in the right places across London, the East and South East of England.

Six community energy groups are already on board and working on plans to recruit and expand their energy advice services. More groups will be coming online for the second phase starting in September.

Suleman Alli, UKPN’s director of finance & customer service, said: “We’re extremely proud to be able to support the impactful work of community energy groups across the areas we serve. We hope this funding boost will make a meaningful difference to those in our community and provide our customers with support and guidance to ensure no one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero.”

CES will provide fully funded bespoke training for new recruits to become ‘energy champions’, now a sought-after career opportunity within the community energy sector.

One energy champion already working in the area said: “I enjoy visiting homes and meeting people and being able to help them with ideas on how they can improve their home and spend less money – and help the environment too. It’s a win win! The training gave me the knowledge and confidence to be able to go out to people’s homes and talk to them about saving energy. The support from the leaders and wider group has been brilliant for when something different crops up.”

CES chief executive Ollie Pendered said: “This is a groundbreaking moment for the community energy sector.

“The intrinsic value of all the hard work by thousands of volunteers across the country has been recognised, and through this campaign up to 20 community energy groups will have the opportunity to receive funding to create local job opportunities and deliver their energy saving campaigns within their communities. This is an extraordinary development and one we thank UK Power Networks for enabling.”

CES has previously worked with UKPN on their Energy Smart Communities  social venture, enabling infrastructure development to leave a lasting legacy which builds more resilient communities.

With a showcase project in the capital’s Leicester Square theatreland, Energy Smart Communities looks at innovative ways to develop community energy projects, raises awareness and provides support for those in fuel poverty and improves knowledge and skills in sustainable living through educational programmes with partners.

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Describing himself today as ‘politically homeless’, Skidmore resigned last year as a Conservative MP and party member over the Sunak government’s retreat from green initiatives, including delaying tougher requirements on home insulation and extending sales of petrol-driven cars.

Re-affirming his faith as a Conservative in markets, Skidmore told a solar conference in London :

“The future of energy is local. Community energy will create more flexibility for consumers, in bringing cheaper, cleaner electricity, achieving Net Zero, even balancing the grid.  It re-builds communities.  But too few politicians realise its implications”.

While sitting as a Bristol MP, Skidmore was tasked by premier Johnson to conduct an expert review of Britain’s Net Zero policies.  His “Mission Zero” report in January 2023 contained over 120 recommendations, re-affirming the goal’s necessity, and calling for accelerated practical measures to reach the target, in the face of opposition from several fellow Conservatives at Westminster.

Rishi Sunak’s subsequent wavering over Net Zero convinced Skidmore to end his 14 year career at Westminster and his Tory party membership, concentrating instead on work as professor of Net Zero policy at Bath Unversity.

On 27 June with trade body Renewable UK, Skidmore will publish “Net Zero at the Crossroads”, a new assessment seeking to influence the incoming government’s pursuit of energy sustainability and deadlines towards its delivery.  The day is the fifth anniversary of Skidmore while energy minister signing the Johnson government’s Net Zero goals into UK law.

The ex-minister & ex-Conservative told Solar Media’s UK Solar Summit this morning that he remains committed to continuing his cross-party advocacy for green energy, including in community fora such as Oxford County Council’s energy round table.

“My message to practitioners in solar and in community energy is to engage as fully as possible with politicians at every level at this crucial time for clean power”, Skidmore told the conference.

Activists & volunteers working through around 300 energy co-ops in England & Wales are a corrective, Skidmore implied, to what he called Britain’s culture of viewing energy as ‘a commodity imposed from above, top down’.  He called for more community co-ops such as that he had known in Bristol, and endorsed the work of the ‘Right of Local Sale’ campaign, to which over half of all MPs are now signed up.

Recalling attitudes among his former Conservative colleagues at Westminster, Skidmore shared with the conference analysis that, of the 100 constituencies with the most household PV deployed, every one is represented by a Conservative MP.

Skidmore recalled that 49-day premier Liz Truss enthused to him over the benefits of rooftop solar, but opposed PV farms on agricultural land. He reminded delegates that only 3% of UK land would be required to deliver the government’s continuing goal of 70GW of installed PV by 2030.

During his work on the Net Zero review, Skidmore recalled that Craig McKinlay, leader of the Net Zero Review group of sceptical Tory MPs, had expressed frustration that over one million homes installing PV in the past decade would face added expense of having to upgrade rooftop systems in future.

Britain needs to follow the example of more participative energy cultures of our European neighbours, Skidmore argued. Technical changes enabling dispersed low carbon generation, sometimes no longer under the control of corporations, dictated that a culture change was necessary.  Community participants should be guiding politicians, he said.

Interest declared: the author invests in and participates in several local UK energy co-operatives, including in London & the south east.

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The EST will consider granting cash to projects across England, Scotland and Wales, if they support households most at risk from cold and high energy bills, or advance innovative services around home energy use, or address carbon emissions reduction.

Community interest companies, co-operative societies and community benefit societies are among potentially eligible recipients.

Graham Ayling, senior project manager at the EST, said: “With energy prices remaining high, we encourage community and charity groups that work with struggling or vulnerable people to apply for funding through the Main or Small Project Fund.

“We’ve seen the positive work that such local groups do in helping those most in need, with projects ranging from energy advice supporting vulnerable people, to research aimed at making sure the needs of elderly and disabled people are met by new energy technologies.

Ayling went on: “This funding will also aid projects which address the climate emergency, helping to deliver net zero in ways that leave no one behind and help everyone to share in the benefits”.

The Energy Redress Scheme is sourced from Ofgem’s fines levied on energy retailers who breach their supply licences. Since 2018, it has awarded over £100 million, benefitting more than 530 projects across England, Scotland & Wales.

Cathryn Scott, Ofgem’s director for enforcement and emerging issues, backed the latest EST offer. She added:

“Protecting customers is at the heart of Ofgem’s mission, so when we make energy companies pay for falling short of the standards we set, it’s only right that customers should be the ones who benefit.

“Since the Redress Fund was established, more than £100 million has gone to projects helping households who might be struggling with energy bills. This latest round of funding is another opportunity to get funds to communities that need it the most so I would encourage organisations to apply.”

The ERS’ funding streams are:

• Main Fund, with £13.25 million. Aimed at projects seeking grants between £50,000 and £2 million supporting vulnerable households.
• Small Project Fund, with £750,000. For projects seeking grants between £20,000 and £49,999.
• Innovation Fund, containing £3 million. Benefitting projects set to innovate products or services for households. Applicants can apply for sums between £20,000 and £1 million.
• Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund, containing £3 million. Aimed at projects that will reduce UK carbon emissions and empower households to reduce their carbon footprint. Applicants can apply for grants between £20,000 and £1 million.

For more details, check here.     Applications close on Tuesday 20 February.

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Eight solar farms together rated at 36MWp in output now move into the control of Community Energy Together, an alliance formed of five regional generating co-operatives.

During CET’s stewardship up to £20 million of community benefits, could flow, say participants. These are delivered in the form of support to groups fighting fuel poverty and supporting village halls.

The five participants are community benefit societies Wight Energy, Gower Power, Kent Energy, Somerset’s Yealm Energy and Shropshire & Telford Community Energy.

Big Society Capital, one of the financial midwives to the deal, says it meets the electricity needs of 13,000 homes. At a stroke, it also increases by 20% co-operative energy’s share of national green power generation.

The deal has been facilitated by Community Owned Renewable Energy (CORE), a partnership between the UK’s leading social impact investor Big Society Capital and Power to Change, an independent trust fostering community enterprise.

Designed and managed by the UK’s leading environmental impact investment advisor and fund manager, Finance Earth, the closure of the fund marks the successful realisation of its initial purpose of facilitating community ownership of renewable assets and creating funding streams for wider social change.

Big Society Capital’s Joe Shamash said: “This transfer is testament to the potential that community energy has to help the UK reach its net zero targets in a way that benefits local communities throughout the country. We are so pleased to have helped communities take ownership of solar farms that deliver the multiple benefits of energy security, a cleaner planet and funding for local community projects.”

Participants see this deal as a blueprint for the Labour party’s energy plans, encouraging community ownership of small-scale projects promoting cleaner power. Money is reinvested in communities and utilisation of private investment as part of national energy policy.

Power to Change’s CEO Tim Davies-Pugh said: “Local and community energy is key to making the UK a clean energy superpower and building an economy that works for people and planet. Bold, collaborative approaches are needed to rapidly grow community energy at scale, opening new markets and bringing in institutional investment, whilst remaining embedded in local communities. As a key partner in this innovative scheme, we stand ready to share the lessons, particularly as the Labour Party further develops its approach to community energy through its Local Power Plan.”

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The authority steps in when suppliers breach their licence conditions or are found to be failing customers.

It recovered last year’s £77.2 million in the form of fines, customer refunds, compensation and alternative actions. That’s almost triple 2022’s £27.3 million. The latest sum includes £5 million of direct fines.

Over £57 million of cash recovered from suppliers was paid into Ofgem’s Energy Redress Fund, which benefits charities & community projects designed to help vulnerable customers.

The ERF is managed by the Energy Saving Trust. Since launch in 2018, it has handed out £102 million in grants to 538 projects.

A further £35 million has been added for sharing among projects, including new ones. The ERF now seeks fresh applications; details here.

Examples of licence breaches in 2023 included three generators who unfairly raised bills, or others inflicting unacceptable call waits on customers wanting to change supplier.

Ofgem says it forced suppliers to pay over a million pounds a month for poor service alone. The regulator says 2023’s ‘significant rise’ in fines reflects Ofgem’s proactive work to identify suppliers’ service failures.

“Ensuring customers are treated fairly is at the heart of Ofgem’s mission”, said its director for enforcement Cathryn Scott.

“That’s why we make suppliers pay when they break rules. When they do, it’s only right that customers should benefit.

“Every year, the Energy Redress Fund makes a positive difference to the lives of customers, particularly people who are struggling and vulnerable. Seeing it pass the £100 million mark is a significant milestone.

“This could not have happened without the thorough investigative work of our compliance teams, or the Energy Saving Trust who ensure target the money.”

ERF remedies have included:

• £20 million in fuel vouchers issued to charities to identify and provide help to vulnerable customers at risk of disconnection
• installing energy saving methods for more than 150,000 homes to help reduce bills
• working to ensure that future home heating controls and new energy technologies work for everyone including people living with disabilities

Among the 538 projects supported by the energy redress fund is the Warm Hubs centre in the village of Seahouses, Northumberland.

Redress funding drove this community resource, established by the Community Action Northumberland charity, and a lifeline service last winter at the height of the energy crisis.

Laura McGadie at the Energy Saving Trust, said: “We are pleased to have managed the distribution of more than £100 million in much-needed funds from the Redress scheme to frontline charities and social enterprises since 2018.

“The projects funded by the scheme are helping customers in the most vulnerable situations through the cost of living crisis, but they also look to the future.

“Charities and social enterprises have a crucial role to play in ensuring no one is left behind as we transition to net zero and that we all have a voice and a role in the changes that are coming to our energy system.”

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Brighton Energy, in which the current writer invests, announced it has raised its target £700,000 of new bonds within one month.    The debt issuance is believed to be among the largest ever completed by a UK energy co-operative.

Over 100 small investors contributed to Brighton Energy’s bond issuance, chair Will Cottrell told the benefit society’s members this morning.   Most are locals or from south east England, with others distributed across the UK.

With around 700kWp in the co-op’s pipeline, the latest bond issuance amounts to one pound for every unbuilt kilowatt of potential.

The cash will go towards a pipeline of solar PV projects on community roofs.   Work on Cardinal Newman School, a comprehensive in Hove, begins next week and will last over the summer holidays.

Early September will see a 360kWp system installed on roofs at Newhaven Port.  Array erection atop Shoreham Port’s facilities will round off the co-op’s latest round.

Thanking investors, BE chair Will Cottrell – centre in image – added: “ With more than 700kWp of new solar now in progress, it just shows what we can do when we act together”.

Most co-ops operate a business model whereby they raise money in stakes sometimes as small as £50 laid by private investors including locals. The funds go to instal solar- or wind-power equipment, whose output the co-ops sell, as legally established entities, to community organisations such as schools, and at a discount guaranteed over years to the host community enterprise.

On top of dividends paid to members, many co-ops devote a chunk of trading profits back into the community, either funding drop-in clinics advising on beating fuel poverty, supporting community groups, or giving cash to renovating facilities such as village halls.

Recent innovations in funding the sector have include operators such as Ripple Energy. This aggregrates small investors’ cash, allowing them to invest in multiple solar or wind projects across the nation, and at the same time.

“Roof-leasing” is the sole business model currently open for co-ops to raise revenues.  Direct sales to of their power to investors or local communities is prohibited under Ofgem’s licencing of suppliers.   Over half of all MPs now support reform having signed up to the principle of local sale of locally generated power, in response to campaigners at Power to People.

Interest declared: This writer invests in several UK volunteer-led energy co-ops, including in Brighton Energy.

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Funded from the regulator’s fines on licensed suppliers, the Redress Scheme has a total of £3 million on the table.

Local projects eligible to benefit include those supporting households most at risk from high energy bills, carbon emissions reduction projects ventures in England, Scotland and Wales, or those centring on innovative products and services related to home energy.

Charities and community energy groups – including community benefit societies, community interest companies, and co-operative can access one or more of four funding streams.

The streams are:

• £1.8 million in the Main Fund, benefitting vulnerable households with grants of between £50,000 and £250,000.
• £300,000 in the Small Project Fund, dispensing grants between £20,000 to £50,000 supporting similarly afflicted families.
• The £450,000 Innovation Fund, a seed nursery for product or service innovations doing good for  households. Grants are between £20,000 to £200,000.

• Also containing £450,000, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund,– aimed at projects empowering homes to reduce their carbon footprint.  Sums adanced are as for the Innovation Fund.

To apply, organisations need to be pre-registered by visiting the Energy Redress registration page.

Organisations that haven’t yet registered with the scheme must do so 10 working days before the relevant Fund closes to allow time for eligibility checks to take place.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 22 August 2023. To apply follow the instructions on the Energy Redress website.

In the five years to March, the Energy Redress Scheme supported 470 projects with £81 million in grants. Projects included:

• Boosting the uptake of whole-house retrofits
• Energy advice services supporting vulnerable people.
• Digital media to engage marginalised audiences with energy problems, including affordability
• Research into the energy needs of elderly people and disabled people

• Trialling new outreach or business models which enable households use more locally generated energy.

The Energy Saving Trust’s head of renewables Anthony Kyriakides said: “This latest round of funding will continue support for the positive and important work undertaken by charities in helping the most vulnerable households”.

“The funding will also support charities delivery of projects focused on achieving a Net Zero future and helping to ensure a just transition for as many people as possible.”

Ofgem collects voluntary payments from companies that may have breached Ofgem-administered rules. Energy Saving Trust manages the allocation of payments for the scheme, which has been in place for five years.

The scheme prioritises support for vulnerable energy consumers, the development of innovative products or services and the empowerment of consumers to reduce their carbon emissions.

For more, go to: energyredress.org.uk

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CEE says Labour stands to “turbo-charge” the sector, freeing up volunteer-run co-ops “to be a powerhouse for energy transformation in every community”.

An extra 8GW of renewable generating capacity, to be built by 2030 and sponsored by GB Energy, a new nationalised investor, is among a revamp of Labour’s new policies announced today.

Labour said its Local Power Plan will put “more solar panels on public land or housing estates, and empower local communities to come forward with projects directly owned by local people.”

The party unveiled its radical new direction during Community Energy Fortnight, as over 320 co-operatives nationwide celebrate more than 330 MW of democratically accountable capacity already installed.

Under Labour’s sharpened Local Power blueprint, councils too will receive £600 million a year to boost municipal generation, in return for identifying generation sites and applying easier rules granting planning approval. Profits from sales of municipal energy will go to improve services or lower council taxes.

Labour’s bigger role for co-ops and councils comes after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves rowed back last month from an earlier pledge to spend £28 Billion every year on renewables. That figure is now downgraded as a target for the fifth year of any Labour government.

Speaking this morning in Edinburgh, Sir Keir Starmer – pictured with Reeves – was unveiling Labour’s plans to:

• loosen planning curbs in England & Wales which continue in practice the Tories’ seven year ban on new onshore wind farms, the cheapest form of low-carbon power
• end new North Sea oil & gas extraction, but respect all licences granted before Labour takes office. These are likely to include the Rosebank field, west of Shetland
• set up GB Energy, as a nationalised body to accelerate renewables, with its headquarters in Scotland

GB Energy’s role would include overseeing the recycling of profits from municipal energy sales. Councils could use that income to cut council tax, pay for improved public services or simply provide rebates on energy bills.

Community Energy England quantifies big social benefits delivered by volunteer-managed renewables. Advice delivered by its supporters across England achieves at least £9 of social benefit for every £1 spent, it claims.  In 2021, the sector’s toughest year for operations, co-op members worked with more than 51,000 households and saved £3.35m on energy bills.

Emma Bridge, CEE’s chief executive commented; “We warmly welcome Labour’s emphasis on bringing together communities with the public and private sectors as a key part of their Clean Power plan.

She went on: “Community energy groups are already working with schools, businesses and community buildings to install renewable energy, helping fuel poor homes to reduce their energy bills, supporting unemployed people to build skills and gain new employment, and much more. But there are many parts of the country that don’t yet have community energy.

“Building a zero-carbon energy system is a social issue that requires a just transition. Community energy builds the consent, trust and active participation to make this happen.

“Labour’s announcement is a strong step towards enabling all communities to have access to their own energy projects and creating a fair, zero carbon energy system”, Bridge added. Community Energy England looks forward to working with them to realise that vision.”

In Scotland, onshore wind schemes controlled by co-ops deliver on average 34 times the community benefit of commercial projects, the sector claims.

From the Renewable Energy Association, chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska CBE welcomed Labour’s move.

“As Sir Keir makes clear, renewables can deliver cheaper, greener power than any alternatives and must be rolled out at scale as quickly as possible. The REA echoes his statement that clean energy is now essential for national security.

“We agree in principle that local communities should benefit economically from projects in their areas, as this could become a major added benefit of the Net Zero transition”.

Sarah Merrick, founder & CEO of Ripple Energy, the venture enabling collective ownership of wind and solar farms, also backed Labour’s plan.

“We welcome Keir Starmer’s commitments to overturn the de-facto ban in England on onshore wind and speeding up grid connections”, said Merrick. “Action is long overdue“.  

Crowding in private investment was a key plank of Starmer’s speech. For a truly democratic and just transition, investment from households across the country must be crowded in too. People, as well as big financial institutions, can and should be able to own and directly benefit from the UK’s new wind farms and solar parks.

“Ripple has already shown it’s possible, we stand ready to deliver on a much larger scale.”

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Shares starting at £25 in Derril Water, a 42MW PV venture with planning permission on low grade fields at Pyworthy, west Devon, are being offered from today by Ripple Energy, pioneers of co-operative ownership.

Ripple have previously successfully sold three wind farms in Wales & Scotland to small investors.  Now they have bought the Devon project off the design board from developers RES.

A two-week exclusive window for locals to register for co-ownership opened this morning. From early May, private individuals further afield can stake their claim.

Ripple sees shared ownership of solar farms as an affordable, simple way for households to act on climate change and shrink their carbon footprint.

Owners of Derrll Water will see savings applied to their electricity bill, based on how much power their share of the park generates.

Ripple’s business model is to sell power from citizen-owned wind & solar farms on to retailers licenced by Ofgem. A clause in the power sale contract compels the suppliers to offer the electricity at a discount back to the farm’s owners.

Though indirect, long-term savings on investors’ purchases of clean power are guaranteed. Ripple’s marketing material quotes around 25% off competitors’ prices.

Community activities around Derril Water will benefit too from a fund run by the owners’ co-operative.  Power sales should raise around £42,000 every year, adding to £15,000 from developers RES, already committed to refurbish a village hall.

Sarah Merrick, Ripple Energy’s founder and CEO said: “By offering consumer ownership, Derril Water solar park will become a completely different kind of solar park, one owned by the people it supplies low cost green power to.

“We want Derril Water to become a blueprint for consumer-owned solar parks around the world”, Merrick went on.

“We want to create a wave of green energy ownership that enables people to make a real climate impact, as well as stabilising their energy bills.

RES’ Managing Director Lucy Whitford responded:  “Bringing Ripple on board at Derril Water offers a new way for consumers to share in the benefits of renewable energy and play a part in fighting climate change. The ability for local households and businesses to get involved connects the community directly with the project. Ripple’s model at Derril Water provides a direct way for consumers to lower their energy costs at such a critical time.”

Biodiversity uplift planned for the site includes planting species-rich grasses, native trees and 30% more hedgerows. Bird and bat boxes, hedgehog houses, dormouse boxes and bee banks will be installed.

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In 2023’s first three months Brighton Energy Co-op has allocated cash lingering on from the UK’s now vanished EU membership, passing it to ten Sussex firms to aid onsite generation with solar PV arrays.

In only one quarter enterprises including a tea importer, a carpet wholesaler and a conservation project have together gained around 1.5 MWp in PV capacity, generating an expected 1.43 million kWh for qualifying firms, located across the seaside city and its Sussex hinterland.

The allocation brings to 19 the number of firms to benefit from the co-op’s anticipatory application for solar grants, made by Brighton Energy in the dying days of this nation’s forty-seven year EU membership.

A further 15 solar projects are due to be completed by June, according to the co-op’s latest newsletter. It is due to pay out a further £300,000 of grants before October.

The cash comes from Brussels’ Regional Development Fund.  Brighton Energy worked with Sussex Local Enterprise Partnerships to distribute £25,000 packages under its Community Solar Accelerator programme, supporting up to 40% of a qualifying SME’s new rooftop installation.

“We often found that other businesses saw their neighbours using our grant to install solar panels on their roofs. Several of these neighbouring businesses then decided to install their own PV arrays even without our grant!”, Brighton Energy’s latest newsletter relates.

Last year the Brighton citizens brought to fruition their biggest ever PV project, a giant 0.57 MW set of arrays at Rathfinny Wine Estate, near Alfriston, pictured. Funded to the tune of £400,000 by around one hundred small investors, the project has been nominated by its installer Genfit for a regional energy efficiency award.

Now thirteen-years old, Brighton Energy has in its history raised £2.5 million for free PV on schools, from 500 local investors placing stakes from £300 upwards.

Its next project is assisting in continuing consultations aimed at setting up a community-focused energy benefit company on Crawley’s Manor Royal estate next to Gatwick Airport.

Read more about Brighton Energy here.  Interest declared: The present writer is a member of Brighton Energy.

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Community Energy London, which already counts 30 active citizen groups, last week met MPs and councillors at the House of Commons to launch its vision.

Solar and heat pumps this decade on that thousand buildings are just the start, says CEL.

City Hall researchers helping the umbrella group have picked out nearly 21,000 community-controlled roofs across the capital.  Half are suitable for solar PV, potential offering 1.3 GW of generating capacity.  Heat pumps & other sources could adorn the rest.

Campaigners claim that level of deployment could keep around 350,000 of London’s homes lit and heated.

Every one of the 21,000 sites will need to be turned into hubs for small-scale generation, say CEL, if London’s Mayor is to meet his Net Zero by 2030 goal.   Even the lesser target implies turning 30 roofs in every borough into a mini-power station.

Along with volunteers elsewhere in across Britain, most of CEL’s neighbourhood-based groups periodically raise sums from £20,000 to £500,000 from friends, neighbours & parents to put clean generation equipment on schools, libraries or health clinics.  A majority direct cash too into volunteer-delivered services, advising Londoners on mastering their rocketing fuel bills.

Deepening technical co-operation with City Hall has seen umbrella body CEL pick from the out of the city’s datasets roofs with most renewables potential, or structures linking into district heat networks.

A unique resource now being perfected, CE London’s Potential Map has offered up the 21,000 long-list, tying together location datasets like London’s Solar Opportunity Map, the London Building Stock Model and the capital’s Heat Map.

The Potential Map is the treasure chest for CEL’s ‘Vision for Community Energy in London’.

Adding to dividend-earning investments made by small investors, a growing minority of far-sighted boroughs are also stumping up cash. Haringey, Southwark, Brent and Hackney head the list.

Out-topping all as a financial mainstay is the London Community Energy Fund, controlled from City Hall.

Now just finishing its sixth round of grants, the LCEF has targeted poorer pockets of the capital, breathing life into 129 projects across all but six boroughs.  A total of 2.8 MW of PV panels, nearly two football fields-worth, have resulted since 2017.

From Mayor Khan’s viewpoint, the co-ops’ activism is a trailblazer towards the total £75 billion of private & public investment which City Hall officials reckon he’ll need to meet the 2030 deadline.

Six key actions are needed to keep CE London on track towards those 1,000 roofs, its leaders believe:

• Continued support from the London Community Energy Fund
• Working closer with boroughs
• Spreading recognition of community energy’s benefits in cohesion & neighbourhood building
• Unlocking the potential of Londoners to invest in community energy
• A new national strategy for Community Energy

Read CEL’s Vision document here. To attend CE London’s next online meeting this Thursday 23 March, contact co-ordinator Katherine Linsley.

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