Community energy UK

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of UK community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for Community energy.

• Our vision and mission, Great British Energy, added 16:26, 14 January 2026 (UTC)

• We have the POWER, motto under which Julia Davies and friends help catalyse transformative change. added 20:05, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
• Green Open Homes network which supports low-carbon open homes events across the country through free resources and advice. link checked 08:33, 17 August 2023 (UTC)
• SuperHomes network sharing retrofit knowledge and best practice
• Centre for Sustainable Energy, "charity supporting people and organisations across the UK to tackle the climate emergency and end the suffering caused by cold homes". Video: Centre for Sustainable Energy on youtube.com, added 17:39, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
• Community Energy Coalition
• Community Energy England
• Sustainable Energy Alliance

Scaling up Community Energy: a how-to Guide, March 2^[1]

• Community energy hub
• rural community energy projects on Google Maps
• UK energy map from energyshare
• Interactive Maps: trends in fuel poverty, energy use and energy efficiency measures, The Department of Energy and Climate Change
• Interactive Map from Energy4All
• Offshore wind electricity map The Crown Estate

• Energising Britain: Your voice in our Clean Energy Superpower Mission, 3 December 2025, on gov.uk (accessible webpage), added 14:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

• According to Renewables First, the proportion of energy generated through community-owned production amounts to 86 percent in Denmark, 15 percent in Germany, and a woeful 0.5 percent in the UK.^[2]
• The total of all renewable electricity sources provided for 14.9% of the electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2013, reaching 53.7 TWh of electricity generated. ^W
• As of April 29, 2014, according to the latest wave of DECC survey results, 70% are in favour and only 12% oppose onshore wind.^[3]
• In April 2011 a YouGov survey indicated that the number of households in fuel poverty had risen to 6.3 million households, representing approximately 24% of all households in the UK. ^W
• Winderful - visualising UK's wind energy in real time. Made by DIAS
• 5,000 community energy groups active in the UK, June 4, 2015^[4]

• Big Solar Co-op, community solar, not-for-profit, carbon-first and volunteer-led organisation, solarising commercial and community buildings all over the UK from doctors surgeries to factories and everything in between. added 11:48, 11 December 2023 (UTC). The Big Solar Co-op: ethical, community-led rooftop solar, on cpre.org.uk
• powerpaired.org, "matchmaking service for community energy groups and the owners of sites with renewable energy potential"
• Connecting Community Energy, A guide to getting a network connection, westernpower.co.uk
• Five ways you can support community energy in the UK, 1010uk.org
• Community Biomass Heating Guide, (England), Forestry Commission England
• Community Energy - planning, development and delivery, a Combined Heat & Power Association (CHPA), LDA Design and Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) guide, outlines a straightforward step-by-step approach to the challenge of creating a successful and efficient community energy scheme.^[5] 9/11/2010
• Community Energy, a guide aimed at local groups who are interested in setting up a community energy project. Information from GOV.UK
• Community Energy Hub
• Community renewable energy companies, Transition Network
• Free resources for community energy groups 2015, from Gwent Energy CIC
• Hydropower schemes: guidelines and applying for permission. Information from GOV.UK
• Making DIY Solar Panels for your Off Grid home, Permaculture Magazine
• The Rough Guide to Community Energy, downloadable or request a free printed copy
• Solar water heating, advice laeflet, Centre for Sustainable Energy
• The Source, Centre for Sustainable Energy
• YouGen, social enterprise aiming to make it easy for people to get the information they need to invest in renewable energy (or decide it is not right for their home).
• GreenMatch is a green energy platform that offers free personalised information for each household regarding how it could benefit or be otherwise influenced by converting to green energy.
• General information on setting up a Community Energy Project Ovesco IPS

Apps for sustainability

• Look Up, made by 10:10, carbon cutting campaign

According to Renewables First, the proportion of energy generated through community-owned production amounts to 86 percent in Denmark, 15 percent in Germany, and a woeful 0.5 percent in the UK. When communities take energy generation into their own hands, it connects the user to the source. Greater public appreciation of what goes into that easily flicked light switch is possible, and this hopefully encourages more mindful consumption. On top of that, community energy schemes generally utilise localised, renewable resources...@shareable, Oct 26, 2021

• Community Energy and local Climate (and Ecological) Emergencies, communityenergyengland.org, added 16:36, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

The UK is one of the best locations for wind power in the world, and is considered to be the best in Europe. Wind power delivers a growing percentage of the energy in the United Kingdom and at the beginning of August 2015, wind power in the United Kingdom consisted of 6,546 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of just over 13 gigawatts: 8,258 megawatts of onshore capacity and 5,054 megawatts of offshore capacity. The United Kingdom is ranked as the world's sixth largest producer of wind power, having overtaken France and Italy in 2012. Polling of public opinion consistently shows strong support for wind power in the UK, with nearly three quarters of the population agreeing with its use, even for people living near onshore wind turbines. ^W

The first community solar farm in the United Kingdom is the 5 MW Westmill Solar Park, near Watchfield, Oxfordshire ^W

Saving energy is the cheapest of all measures. ^W

In the United Kingdom fuel poverty is said to occur when, in order to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth, a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income on total fuel use. Adequate warmth is generally defined to be 21 °C in the main living room and 18 °C in other occupied rooms during daytime hours, with lower temperatures at night, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Fuel poverty is not just about access to heating as the definition of fuel is taken to include all expenditure on domestic energy, including that used for hot water, cooling, lights and appliances. ^W

• Support the Local Electricity Bill, campaign by Power for People, a not-for-profit organisation, campaigning for the UK to rapidly transition to 100% clean energy and for this to benefit local economies: powerforpeople.org.uk, link checked 15:45, 18 July 2025 (UTC). Power for People on youtube.com, added 14:26, 2 December 2025 (UTC)
• Stop the government's daylight robbery! 1010uk.org, Oct 19, 2018
• Back Balcombe, national project run by 10:10
• Blown Away, sign the petition
• Fuel Poverty Action

See also: Climate action UK, Environment quality UK, Localism UK, Rural sustainability UK, Sustainable transport UK

local information can be found, or shared, via our many UK location pages

External links

• Wikipedia: Renewable energy in the United Kingdom, Wind power in the United Kingdom, Solar power in the United Kingdom, Hydroelectricity in the United Kingdom, Geothermal power in the United Kingdom, Energy efficiency in British housing
• Abundance Investment, regulated online platform that lets people lend money from as little as £5 to renewable energy projects in the UK and share in the returns from generating low-carbon electricity. ^W
• Anaerobic digestion, Official information portal
• Centre for Sustainable Energy
• Demand Energy Equality
• Energy4All facilitates the creation and development of wind turbine cooperatives in the United Kingdom, based on the experienced gained in the creation of the UK's first wind co-op, Baywind Energy Co-operative. It has gone on to raise at least £6million on behalf of the co-operatives, through community share offerings.

Whilst not technically a co-operative itself, the organisation has helped create at least ten wind co-ops, including Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative and Boyndie Wind Farm Co-operative, who, along with Baywind, own Energy4All.

One of the co-operatives it has created, Energy Prospects Co-operative, specialises in taking early stage wind co-operatives through the development and planning application stages to the point where a community share offer, managed by Energy4All, can be launched to fund the project.

They won an Ashden Award in 2012. ^W

• energyshare
• Energy Saving Trust, information on community projects. ^W
• National Energy Action, fuel poverty charity that works to eradicate fuel poverty and campaigns for greater investment in energy efficiency to help those who are poor or vulnerable gain affordable heat. ^W
• Community Energy information from Resilient Energy
• Pure Leapfrog
• Selectricity, goodenergy.co.uk
• Solar Power Portal

References