When it comes to community and local energy there are questions that crop up time and time again. We’ve answered some of the most common ones on this page to help you.
Of course, we’re always here for you if you want any help, advice or a chat about your plans – just get in touch.
Community energy refers to local and community-led projects or initiatives to tackle climate change through reducing or managing energy demand, generating renewable energy or setting up the infrastructure and support to help people in the community reduce carbon emissions. And this covers so much, from providing energy saving advice to installing solar panels, heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points. You can find out more information on Ways to go net zero.
At the heart of all our community energy projects is the importance of communities working together and bringing benefits to the local area.
As the name suggests, community energy projects are often run by local community groups. But there are lots of different groups and organisations involved in community energy projects including local authorities, housing associations, intermediary or advisory organisations and local businesses. Some local energy projects may have a commercial aspect, but are also likely to benefit their local area and community.
Through a community energy project you can take control of how energy is generated and consumed. You’ll be doing your bit for climate change as community energy provides clean, efficient and affordable ways to power schools, hospitals, local government buildings, high streets and so on.
We're here to help communities set up their own local energy projects. We support community groups with advice and funding and can help with that all-important connection to the grid.
Take a look at our case studies to see the groups we’ve worked with and what they’ve been up to. You might even get some inspiration for your own community energy project.
We have some useful online guides packed full of information, to help you with your community energy project – you can find them all on our resources page. You can also find information on connecting to the network and any upcoming events that you could come along to.
We’re here to help. Whether you have a project in mind, or would like more information on how to get involved, just get in touch.
As the name suggests, community energy projects are often run by local community groups. But there are lots of different people and organisations involved in community energy projects including local authorities, housing associations, intermediary or advisory organisations and local businesses. You may already help to run a community centre and want to reduce your energy bills or know a place where renewable energy would be perfect. You may want to help people in your area to reduce their energy bills, work with young people who are keen to tackle climate change, or really want to get an electric vehicle charging point for your community. Your organisation may already support local groups and you could help them to benefit from a community energy project.
Take a look at our case studies to see the groups we’ve worked with and what they’ve been up to. You might even get some inspiration for your own community energy project.
Most community energy groups are happy to share information and advice about their experiences. Come along to an event (online or in person) to hear from other people.
If you have a specific area of interest, we may be able to put you in touch with someone who can help.
Further down the line you might want to join Community Energy England and have access to help from their practitioners’ network across the country. And the Local Energy North West Hub runs a regular online meet-up for groups to discuss particular issues.
The main thing you need is to be interested and keen to involve other people in solving an energy-related problem. Having an enthusiastic group helps too. You'll need to be able to organise a group and have someone with the time and ability to manage a project. Once you’ve defined what it is you want to do, you may need to bring in specialist advice, for example on your technical options. We can point you in the right direction for this, and the funding can be used to help develop your group’s skills to deliver a project.
You can also talk to other people at our events to find out more about what they have learned.
Depending on your project, you may need the skills to install and manage a renewable energy system over a long period of time, which could include legal and financial knowledge.
To be eligible for funding you'll need to be a constituted organisation (or fund the project through one) with a board and bank account. Many community energy groups are co-operatives and can get support to set up from Co-operatives UK.
We have an annual fund for community energy projects and more details are on our funding page.
Community energy groups are also eligible to apply for the Energy Redress Funding Scheme, run by The Energy Savings Trust.
Yes! A partnership between a business and a community energy group can provide a way for the business to get renewable energy without the capital investment and provide an opportunity to develop a relationship with the local community.
As a business we are working with a community group to develop community owned solar panels on our depots. Find out more.
Another example is Burneside Community Energy in Cumbria which owns nearly 1MW of solar panels on the roofs of a local business, James Cropper plc.
Yes! There are plenty of examples of local authorities working in partnership with community and local energy groups. For example, local authorities can support groups operating in their area with funding to get started, by identifying suitable sites or by becoming a customer for community-owned power.
The Community Energy England website includes case studies of local authorities and community energy groups working in partnership and resources such as a practical toolkit to help community groups and local authorities understand each other better and to provide ideas for working together.
Yes! We want to encourage organisations that are already supporting communities to help them to develop and deliver community energy projects. This is an area that we'll be supporting through our 2022 Powering Our Communities Fund. It can cover community engagement events and support to develop the relevant skills among community members.
If you want to find out how your support organisation can work with us, please get in touch.
If you want to install an electric low carbon technology such as solar panels, hydro, wind energy, heat pumps or electric vehicle charge points you're likely to need to apply for a grid connection, depending on the scale of the technology.
You can refer to the connections section of our website to find out what you'll need or contact us to talk about your project and we can advise you on what you’ll need to do.