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From South Cornwall to Orkney, from onshore wind and solar to geothermal, our diverse portfolio of clean energy projects spans the whole of the UK.

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Latest news

The new initiative, Community Energy Catalyst, will support local communities to build their own clean energy infrastructure or secure stakes in larger regional renewable energy schemes. Fair Play Clean Energy, Thrive’s existing joint venture with Top Cashback Sustainability Ltd, will provide £20 million of the investment, with Better Society Capital providing matched funding.
Community Energy Catalyst will make investments ranging between £0.5 million to £30 million in individual projects which are at least 1MW in size and employ proven technologies such as onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and hydro-electric. The joint venture will target late-stage development projects that have already secured planning consent, enabling them to advance through to construction, commissioning and operation while aligning with local objectives.
As well as funding, Thrive brings 30 years of experience financing, building and operating clean energy projects in the UK, and will provide support to community energy groups during key milestones such as procurement and grid connection.
When we created our award-winning community funding bridge in 2017, it was the first of its kind. Eight years later we’ve invested over £21 million into seven community energy projects, including £4 million to build England’s largest onshore wind turbine, which is 100% owned by the community in our home city of Bristol.

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Funding partnership with Better Society Capital will help more communities to own their own projects or take a stake in a larger project in their local area.

We’re partnering with the UK’s leading social impact investor to mobilise £40 million for community-owned energy projects

Featured

The UK has one of the most reliable energy networks in the world and across the country there are <a href="https://news.energynetworks.org/news/energy-networks-write-open-letter-to-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">36,000 dedicated people</a> working tirelessly to keep the power on and your homes warm. Not just engineers in the field but operations staff, health and safety professionals are all performing an essential service through this difficult time, for which we are incredibly grateful.
We spoke to Scott Ridley, Director of Cirrus Wind Services, an operations and management company who look after some of Thrive’s wind turbines. He talked to us about how his team are continuing with their important work.

The engineers who look after our wind turbines are part of this team of designated critical workers, but did you know, most of the time they can monitor them from the comfort of home? Here’s how:
<h3>Wind turbines normally operate without human intervention</h3>
Sensors inside the turbine automatically manage operations like adjusting to different wind speed and directions. Unlike many coal or gas power stations, they don’t need to be staffed.
<h3>Turbines are monitored remotely</h3>
Any unusual signals or alerts from the turbine sensors are picked up at the control room and can be investigated remotely.
<h3>The control room is coming home</h3>
Wind turbines are usually monitored from a centralised control room, but with modern IT systems which can be accessed securely remotely, staff are often able to carry out these operations from their homes.
<h3>Most issues can be fixed without visiting the site</h3>
It is only a small number of faults, servicing or inspections which require technicians to go to the wind farm. When a site visit is necessary, it will always be planned safely and in line with the government’s public health advice, such as observing two-meter social distancing.
<h3>Wind turbine engineers are essential workers</h3>
Due to their incredibly important role maintaining turbines, they are still permitted to travel across the country to carry out their work. In order to safeguard these vital staff, organisations we work with have put in place a range of safety measures, such as working in smaller teams and not mixing, using personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks and providing disinfectant.
Scott told us what his team are doing to protect themselves and continue their work.

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As the world continues to tackle coronavirus, dedicated teams across the country are working hard to keep the energy system up and running and your lights on.

Turbines keep turning in turbulent times

<h3>Keeping electricity flowing</h3>
Our renewable energy projects across the country form part of critical national infrastructure and are generating electricity as usual. Engineers continue to maintain and operate our wind farms and hydro sites to keep essential electricity flowing. The safety of staff, contractors and the wider community is of paramount importance. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure their employees are able to work safely themselves and protect the communities they operate in, following government advice and industry guidelines.
<h3>Doing business remotely</h3>
Office-based staff continue to work remotely, phone lines are open and levels of service are normal. The pipeline of new renewable energy projects remains strong and we plan to offer further opportunities to invest directly into renewables in the future.
<h3>Providing help to our communities</h3>
We have voluntarily put in place financial support for communities close to our sites and launched an initiative to purchase Thrive Bonds from people in financial difficulties. Click <a title="Supporting our communities during the Covid-19 crisis" href="/latest-news/news/supporting-our-communities-during-the-covid-19-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/032608c8ad6a47d1a1142f93a2405f97">here</a> for the full story.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on the global energy markets, we felt it necessary to review the <a title="Directors' Valuation" href="/for-investors/shareholders/directors-valuation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/0f06da8b681c4de29f91873a7e1eaaf0">Directors&#8217; Valuation</a>, resulting in a 2% decrease to £2.23 per share. Full details of the review can be found <a title="Directors’ Valuation reduced by 2% in response to Covid-19 pandemic" href="/latest-news/news/directors-valuation-reduced-by-2-in-response-to-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/e18fa1865f13416da41f478c3bc778ed">here</a>.

Directors' Valuation

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sigurd

Thrive Renewables has adapted working practices and is able to continue to operate effectively during the Covid-19 crisis.

Covid-19 pandemic business update 22 April

<h3>Covid-19 community crisis support</h3>
We have allocated £24,000 from this year’s Community Benefit Programme and savings made on company travel to provide emergency financial support to the communities who host our wind farms and hydro projects. There are so many people working so hard in their local communities to help neighbours who are vulnerable and self isolating and we want to make sure we support them where we can. We are consulting with local representatives to understand how our donations can have the most impact in helping those who are struggling. The charity, Centre for Sustainable Energy will administer grants to ensure the finances are easy to access and spent in a transparent way.
<h3>Bond purchase scheme</h3>
For some people, their financial situation has changed in a way that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago. We are conscious that some of our bondholders may unexpectedly be needing to access cash quickly. So we have put together a scheme for a subsidiary company, Brunel Wind Ltd. to purchase our bonds from people who may be struggling financially. Letters are going out to bondholders over the next few days with full details of the offer. It is important for us to point out that we remain committed to servicing our existing bond debt and bondholders who wish to keep their bonds should absolutely do so. This offer is purely for people whose financial circumstances have changed to such an extent that they need to release the money they have invested quickly.
<h3>Supporting staff</h3>
Engineers continue to maintain and operate our wind farms and hydro sites and keep essential electricity flowing. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure their employees are able to work safely themselves and protect the communities they operate in.  All of this is done in line with the evolving government advice and industry trade body guidelines on safety to protect public health.
Our office-based staff are all working from home at the moment. This brings its own challenges potentially with isolation and stress. We support each other with regular face to face calls and team meetings, and we are making professional mental health support available to all staff. In addition, Thrive is providing payments to cover additional household bills for employees such as energy and broadband.
As a business we are fortunate to be able to continue operating effectively, but only because of the amazing work of health and care professionals who take care of the sick and vulnerable and other key workers like our engineers who maintain vital infrastructure and supply chains. We would like to humbly thank them for their work and promise we will continue to do our best to bring about a cleaner, brighter future when this crisis passes.

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Our mission is to power the transition to a sustainable energy future and we make that a reality every day by investing in and operating clean energy generation projects which form part of the UK’s critical infrastructure. We continue to actively develop our pipeline of new renewable energy projects and plan to offer further opportunities to invest directly into renewables in the near future.

Supporting our communities during the Covid-19 crisis

The price we sell electricity at is a key factor in the valuation, along with levels of generation and operational costs. Our projects benefit from a range of power sales contracts which include price floors, fixed pricing and inflation linked elements, as well as government backed renewable electricity support mechanisms. To estimate the long-term dividend flow from our projects, we combine the prices we have agreed in power sales contracts, wholesale electricity market prices in the immediate and medium term and longer-term projections which are provided by market leading experts.
Whilst the DV reflects the long-term value of Thrive shares, events in the short term have an impact. The company continues to generate and sell renewable electricity and has a strong pipeline of new projects &#8211; you can find out more about our business response to Covid-19 <a title="Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic" href="/latest-news/news/our-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/3d98ee4e23e74262b138e6a12d9c9a07">here</a>.  However, the pandemic is having a significant impact on prices on the UK’s wholesale electricity market.
Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a reduction of more than 15% in wholesale power prices. Whilst Thrive has mitigated exposure to these price movements in the near term, over the next 24 months we are now projecting lower electricity prices than previously. This has resulted in a 5p per share decrease in the Directors’ Valuation, reducing it by 2% from £2.28 to £2.23 per share.
The pricing of the UKs wholesale electricity market is complex. There are a number of key price drivers which are having a negative impact on electricity prices currently:
<ul>
<li>Global Oil prices have fallen by over 70% since January 20201 This has principally been driven by slowing global growth, the reduction in global oil demand as much of the world is in lock down, exacerbated by the oil supply dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia.</li>
<li>Natural Gas prices have fallen by over 20% this year2. They are linked to oil prices and currently have a direct impact on the cost of electricity in the UK.</li>
<li>A reduction in demand for electricity in the UK since the lock down was implemented in response to the Covid pandemic. Demand has fallen by between 10% and 20% as both industrial and commercial consumption has dropped. This reduction means that more of the lower cost generators (such as renewables) are satisfying demand and driving down wholesale electricity prices.</li>
</ul>
The combination of locking in future prices and the c.50% of revenues from government backed renewable electricity support mechanisms is limiting Thrive’s exposure to the material changes in the wholesale electricity markets which have been caused largely by the Covid pandemic. The Directors will continue to monitor the factors driving the valuation and communicate any material changes.
[1] <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwdwz5d8gxt/natural-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwdwz5d8gxt/natural-gas</a>

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Caton Moor

Thrive Renewables exists to enable individuals to invest in sustainable energy. We are pleased to have a numerous and diverse shareholder group, giving us a responsibility to provide all our shareholders with an indication of the value of the company – the Directors’ Valuation (DV). The Directors revisit the DV when material events occur.

Directors' Valuation reduced by 2% in response to Covid-19 pandemic

Buildings like village halls and community centres often operate as vital local hubs providing space, activities and support for the most vulnerable in society. However, expensive running costs and upkeep fall to the users. This year we awarded £31,000 in grants, for improvements like loft and wall insulation, new windows, double-glazing and energy efficient heating systems, which are calculated to bring carbon dioxide emission savings of 23 tonnes per year.
To date, including all four rounds of the programme £93,000 has been awarded via 31 grants to improve 23 different community buildings. In total an estimated 60 tonnes of CO2 is now being saved per annum, in addition to numerous other benefits reported by building users, such as improved comfort and ability to use the facilities more frequently as a result of the upgrades.

Based near our March wind farm in Cambridgeshire, St John’s Church received £4,000 for new windows, helping to save nearly 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

St John's Church, March

Based close to our Caton Moor wind farm near Lancaster, St Peter’s Church received £4,000 towards a larger heating upgrade project in addition to insulation works already underway, helping to save 2.64 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

St Peter's Church, Quernmore 

Based near our Avonmouth wind farm in Bristol, Avonmouth Community Centre received £2,360 for new windows, helping to save 5.76 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Avonmouth Community Centre, Bristol

To catch all the latest news and updates on our Community Benefit Programme <a href="/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign up to our newsletter now </a>.

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TIDE &amp; ISE 2018

The fourth round of our Community Benefit Programme has once again seen measurable improvements in warmth, comfort and light in shared buildings close to our projects. Nine community buildings spread across the country received grants of up to £4,000 in 2019 to make vital sustainability and energy efficiency improvements.

The surprise benefits of decarbonising your local community

The government committed to a legally binding ‘net zero’ target in 2019, to get us to a position where the UK’s total emissions are zero by 2050, although that does mean that what are deemed unavoidable emissions will be offset. A hugely positive move nevertheless and at last we are beginning to see changes in policy to reflect this ambition, after years of at best inaction and at worst hostility towards onshore renewables.
Most significant was the announcement at the beginning of March 2020 to amend the ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfD) scheme to allow onshore renewables to compete for government backed clean energy contracts which provide the long-term price stability we need to invest in new projects. CfDs, which have driven the recent boom in offshore wind, reduce revenue uncertainty and reopen the door to lower cost funding, creating new opportunities for individual and community investors. They represent good value for the energy consumer too; when market prices are high, the additional revenue goes back to the government.

The government is currently consulting on CfDs and we will be participating in that consultation and sharing our insight publicly. Frustratingly, England’s planning regime remains a major blocker for onshore wind. We are keen to promote and take part in a national debate on the part onshore wind can play in reaching net zero and working with the industry on best practice for engaging with communities to ensure they can have a real stake in projects close to them.
The whole world is experiencing exceptionally challenging times at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So many people are facing devastating personal tragedy and severe financial hardship. Thanks to the dedication of engineers who look after our wind and hydro power projects which are critical infrastructure generating electricity, Thrive is able to continue business as usual. Office-based staff are all working remotely and able to answer calls, deal with enquiries and continue progressing our investment strategy.
So we see it as our role to think about and action the recovery longer term, building on the solid foundations of the growth in renewables over the last 25 years, nurturing the green shoots of growing public and political awareness and building for a fairer, brighter energy future based on harnessing sunshine, wind and water power. To this end we continue to progress our new investments where it is responsible to do so and develop a healthy pipeline of potential new projects to fund.
[1] BEIS Energy Trends March 2020 (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875381/Energy_Trends_March_2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875381/Energy_Trends_March_2020.pdf</a>

As we have now come to expect, 2019 was yet another growth year for renewables.

Building on solid foundations - the race to #netzero

Robust contingency plans have been formulated to cover employee absence and ensure business continuity as the situation evolves. We will update this page regularly to reflect any changes in our business continuity plan. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by phone or email.

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Thrive Renewables continues to operate business as usual. The wellbeing of our team, contractors, suppliers and the wider community is our absolute priority and we are following government guidance. All office-based staff are now working remotely, phone lines are open and levels of service are normal.

Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Responding to yesterday’s government announcement on proposed amendments to the Contracts for Difference scheme Matthew Clayton, Managing Director at Thrive Renewables, said:

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Thrive Renewables responds to government announcement on proposed amendments to the Contracts for Difference scheme

<div>So far, two wells have been successfully drilled, one of which is the deepest onshore well in the UK at 5.1km vertical depth, almost four times the height of Ben Nevis.  The wells are also the hottest in the UK with an expected temperature of over 190°C.  Initial flow tests show that the project will be capable of producing the UK’s first geothermal electricity. The project is now in its final testing phase.</div>
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<div>Thrive Renewables is investing funds to complete the final rounds of testing and to build the geothermal power plant.  Radial turbines, powered by the energy from water heated deep in the earth, will generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 6,500 UK homes and will be available 24 hours a day. There are also early stage plans to use the residual heat energy from the project to provide renewable heat locally.</div>

The United Downs geothermal power plant could start to generate renewable electricity as early as next year. Geothermal electricity generation technology has proved very successful in Europe and beyond, with over 12,500MW currently operational globally.

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The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project has been set up to explore the deep geothermal resources in Cornwall and is working towards making the county’s vision for a low-carbon energy future a reality. 

To establish the United Downs power plant, two deep geothermal wells have been drilled into the granitic rock beneath the site.  The wells are directional (j-shaped) to intercept a target geological structure (the Porthtowan Fault).  The natural structure enables water to be circulated through the hot rock from the injection well to the production well in a continuous cycle.   As the water moves through the rock it picks up heat which is then extracted and converted to electricity at the surface.

The electricity and heat energy produced from the plant will be continuous (24/7) as geothermal energy does not suffer from the peaks and troughs that many other renewable power sources are subject to.

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United Downs 3

About the United Downs geothermal power project

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UD geothermal 2 1400

Funding will enable final testing and power plant construction.

Thrive Renewables to invest up to £6.5 million in the UK's first geothermal electricity power plant being developed by Geothermal Engineering Ltd

Profits generated by the turbine were paid to the Baywind members and to the Baywind Energy Community Trust, a charity which offers grant funding for energy, education and community welfare in the Furness area.
Now that the 20 year agreement has ended, Baywind has decided not to make further investment in the wind turbine at Haverigg II. Ownership of the turbine has returned to Thrive for a fee, but the company is very open to further community co-ownership in the future. Thrive continues to invest in one of Baywind’s other community wind farms, Mean Moor, which is owned jointly by three community co-operatives.

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In 1998, when the Haverigg II wind farm site in Cumbria was first built, Thrive Renewables agreed to grant ownership of one of the turbines to the pioneering local energy co-operative, Baywind, for 20 years.

Thrive Renewables and Baywind Energy Co-operative agree deal for Turbine at Haverigg II

We believe this new policy will benefit Thrive in three ways:
<h3>Cutting carbon</h3>
Thrive exists to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions by powering the clean energy transition. Currently, there is no technological solution for sustainable flights, behaviour change is key to cutting carbon from flights. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49349566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flying less</a> is one of the most the most powerful actions we can take to reduce carbon emissions and protect the planet. A single return flight to Berlin from the UK clocks up the same amount of CO2 as <a href="https://tyndall.ac.uk/publications/tyndall-working-paper/2015/towards-culture-low-carbon-research-21st-century" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13 return trips by train</a>, showing the impact of our staff taking just one less flight could be huge. With the workplace a key part of modern life we hope to harness the social power of our staff to unlock this new way to cut carbon – moving beyond more traditional business-focused environmental policies.
<h3>Building a reputation as a climate leader </h3>
We’ve been <a href="/latest-news/news/people-power-key-for-sustainable-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pioneers in the renewable energy sector</a> for the last 25 years and now we want to be pioneering employers in this urgent area also. As a Climate Perks employer, we will be a part of getting climate conscious travel off the ground (or back to earth!) in the UK. As we continue on our net zero journey, companies and organisations will be expected to show more and more leadership around climate action. So we’re stepping up now! And we will continue to work and push boundaries to find new ways to reduce our impact on the planet.
<h3>Employee wellbeing</h3>
Recent <a href="https://www.triodos.co.uk/articles/2019/how-is-the-environmental-crisis-making-us-feel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research by Triodos Bank</a> showed 29% of the British public feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis, rising to 40% amongst younger people aged 16-24. However, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2220561-stressed-about-climate-change-eight-tips-for-managing-eco-anxiety/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking action</a> and having the freedom to make climate and ecologically conscious choices can have a big affect on how you feel. <a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/media.afreeride.org/documents/Aviation_briefing_Jan2019+FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research by Possible</a> showed 50% of 18-44 year olds would prefer to work for an employer that helps them to take clean travel on holiday. Through Climate Perks we hope to support staff and future recruits make lifestyle choices that reflect their values &#8211; strengthening staff well-being, satisfaction and loyalty.
Learn more about Climate Perks on their <a href="https://www.climateperks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website.</a>
Possible is a UK based climate charity that brings people together to take positive, practical action on climate change. Combining individual and local actions with larger systemic change, we connect people with each other, and communities with ways to address the climate crisis. Learn more about Possible on their <a href="https://www.wearepossible.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website.</a>

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We are proud to announce that Thrive is a pioneering member of the Climate Perks programme, created by climate charity “Possible”, offering our staff two paid ‘journey days’ when opting for sustainable holiday travel.

Empowering our team to take sustainable flight-free holidays

In 2016 we developed the Community Energy Funding Bridge to empower communities to develop or purchase their own local renewable energy projects. Since then we’ve supported five community groups to acquire three renewable energy projects.
If your community is interested in building a renewable energy project, we’ve put together a handy guide of 10 things you should think about before you start.
Read the full article on the Community Energy England <a href="https://communityenergyengland.org/news/10-things-to-think-about-when-you-are-planning-a-wind-solar-or-hydro-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website.</a>

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Thrive Renewables

Thrive’s top 10 things to think about if you’re planning to build a wind, solar or hydro project.

Empowering communities to build local renewable energy projects

The bond helped to fund new projects that deliver cheaper, cleaner electricity to homes and businesses across the UK, including a milestone community wind project in Cumbria in 2017. Mean Moor wind farm was the first recipient of our award-winning community energy funding bridge, enabling the first commercial scale wind farm in the country to transfer from a developer to 100% community ownership. Funds raised by the bond were also used to build a 6MW wind farm in West Lothian on the site of a disused coal mine, as well as a 2MW hydro-electric project in the Scottish Highlands.

Thrive was ‘highly commended’ at Investment Week’s Sustainable Investment Awards in 2017 for this innovative green energy bond, giving bondholders the opportunity to include their investment in an IFISA.

Sign up to our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about new projects, events and industry insight. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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Launching in 2016, it was the first bond offer to be available through an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).

Second Thrive bond successfully repaid after seven years funding new clean energy projects

In total our wind, solar and hydro projects delivered emissions reductions equivalent to 58,620 tCO2e, a 1% increase in impact on 2022 [3]. 
Despite overall wind speeds in the UK being slightly lower last year than the long-term average, we managed to generate more power than in 2022.  
As part of our long-term growth strategy we aim to double our renewable generation capacity over the next five years. Last year we made <a href="/latest-news/news/new-deal-with-ethical-power-will-help-double-thrive-s-impact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our largest single investment to date</a> and continued to support community-owned projects, including committing £4 million to <a href="/latest-news/news/4-million-investment-into-community-group-attix-cic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scotland’s first subsidy free, 100% community-owned onshore wind turbine</a>.  
We also extended the life of our 22 year old Sigurd wind turbine on Orkney after the original blades reached end of life having generated 88GWh of clean electricity in one of the windiest spots in the UK. Refurbished blades have been fitted so that Sigurd can continue generating clean electricity while the old blades are being <a href="/latest-news/news/reducing-waste-at-our-sigurd-wind-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repurposed into useful items like bike shelters and EV charging stations</a>.

[1] Impact Portfolio describing Thrive’s share of projects owned plus the projects Thrive is funding.
[2] Average residents per household 2.4 (<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020</a>), Population of Preston is 99,198 (<a href="https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-1000/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-1000/</a>).
[3] RenewableUK uses DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 424 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2023) Table 5.14 (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied”). Carbon reduction is calculated by multiplying the total amount of renewable electricity generated by Thrive’s impact portfolio per year by the number of tonnes of carbon which fossil fuels would have produced to generate the same amount of electricity.

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Consistent performance across the portfolio in 2023, despite a slight drop in wind.

Records and repowering: We generated enough clean electricity to power 42,000 homes

Now in its seventh year, the 2023 programme awarded a record £37,692 to ten community groups. The estimated carbon savings from this round alone amount to 7.5 tonnes CO2 equivalent every year. We also provided free online training on the topics of energy advice, community approaches to tackling fuel poverty, and community building energy efficiency. 50% of the people who came to these training sessions had not previously engaged with the programme but were eager to do so afterwards, with two-thirds saying they had been inspired to conduct a survey of their building. Plus, everyone who attended expressed motivation to support their communities in tackling fuel poverty, with all groups also keen to initiate their energy projects.  
Hear from some of the grantees in <a href="https://www.cse.org.uk/news/community-buildings-are-thrive-ing-across-the-uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSE’s article</a>.

Latest news

Find out more about our new projects, events and industry insight.

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11 Mar 2025

We’re partnering with the UK’s leading social impact investor to mobilise £40 million for community-owned energy projects

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