Community energy UK news

Visitors at a Westmill Solar Co-operative Open Day at Westmill Solar Park, June 2012. Attribution: Ben Cavanna
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Location United Kingdom
Coordinates 54° 42' 8.48" N, 3° 16' 35.67" W

Stay updated and share the latest UK news on Community energy highlighting innovative strategies and community efforts at deepening the sustainability and resilience of energy supply via distributed community power.

2025

  • News How heat from old coal mines became a source of local pride in this northern English town – new study, theconversation.com (Nov 20, 2025)
  • News Flooded UK coalmines could provide low-carbon cheap heat ‘for generations’, theguardian.com (Nov 06, 2025) — Report says proven technology could benefit thousands in poor quality housing and help UK meet carbon reduction targets. Community engagement is vital, “In our experience, once people realise what value there is in the ground beneath their feet, they are enthusiastic. But many people, especially in less affluent communities, feel that things are being done ‘to them’ and not ‘with them’, and that breeds resentment and objection.” Prof Simone Abram, co-author and director of Durham Energy Institute
  • News The London solar project slashing bills for vulnerable residents, positive.news (Nov 03, 2025)
  • News Wind power has saved UK consumers over £100 billion since 2010 – new study, theconversation.com (Oct 28, 2025)
  • News Green energy jobs should help bring down heating bills, says expert, BBC News (Oct 26, 2025) — senior Welsh government advisor David Clubb says UK ministers plan to spend billions on "unproven technology" such as carbon capture, when the initial focus should be on home insulation to help bring down bills for the public
  • News Renewable energy investment should come from defence budgets, say retired military leaders, theguardian.com (Oct 23, 2025) — Former European officers say spending on low-carbon power would make nations more resilient to threats from potential aggressors
  • News “We believe our communities should be benefiting from the transition to renewable energy, not being left behind”, says Highland People’s Power, Dailt Alternative (Oct 22, 2025)
  • News ‘Much fairer’: all profits from new Orkney windfarm to benefit locals, theguardian.com (Oct 21, 2025) — Construction due to begin in 2027 on what is expected to become UK’s largest publicly owned windfarm
  • News Energy clubs offer chance to reduce electricity bills by up to 30%, theguardian.com (Oct 18, 2025)
  • News We need to talk about storage, backchannel1.substack.com (Oct 09, 2025) — The question about what happens when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow may be less a technical than an emotional and psychological one
  • News Funding marks step forward for community-led renewable energy in Scotland, gov.scot (Oct 01, 2025) — Community and Renewable Energy Scheme’s (CARES) Community Energy Generation Growth Fund will enable 46 community groups to install local renewable energy schemes such as wind turbines and solar panels, to meet local needs.
  • News Study finds that £416 of the average bill of £1,719 taken as pre-tax profits by the major electricity generators, networks and household suppliers last year, theguardian.com (Sep 17, 2025) — UK public has paid £200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation – study
  • News Scottish Community Coalition on Energy release a Manifesto for Community Renewables [Scottish Beacon], Daily Alternative (Sep 12, 2025)
  • News "Shetland is ideally placed to spearhead a green transition... commensurate with net zero aspirations" [Democracy Collaborative], Daily Alternative (Sep 06, 2025)
  • News Energy users ‘could save £5bn a year’ if gas plants are removed from market, theguardian.com (Sep 04, 2025)
  • News The Pylon, the Turbine and the Black Black Blade [Bella Caledonia], Daily Alternative (Aug 26, 2025)
  • News Community groups call for locally-owned solar farms in Kent, BBC News (Jul 23, 2025)
  • News Shining examples: the renewable engineering marvels reshaping skylines, positive.news (Jul 22, 2025)
  • News “We need renewables to be something *for* communities, not something done *to* communities”—the Scottish Beacon reports on the “Power Shift”, Daily Alternative (Jul 03, 2025)
  • News Britons could soon install balcony solar panels in flats and rental homes, theguardian.com (Jun 30, 2025) — Proposals would enable Britons to save on energy bills and join millions of people in Europe who use ‘plug-in’ panels
  • News Solar panels to be fitted on all new-build homes in England by 2027, theguardian.com (May 01, 2025)
  • News A victory for community energy – Government respond with new funding and support, powerforpeople.org.uk (Apr 11, 2025)
  • News Scotland's largest fully-community-owned solar farm is given the greenlight, on the Isle of Arran, Daily Alternative (Apr 10, 2025)
  • News Power to the people: the rise of community energy, positive.news (Apr 01, 2025)
  • News Direct Access To Power, Alternative Editorial (Mar 23, 2025)
  • News Creating Community Wealth Through Scotland's Energy Revolution [Brian Connolly], Daily Alternative (Mar 19, 2025) — "why should society continue accepting profits going primarily to shareholders rather than communities?"
  • News Urgent action needed to harness tidal power in Severn estuary, say experts, theguardian.com (Mar 19, 2025)
  • News When communities own renewable energy generation, the benefits are enormous [The National], Daily Alternative (Mar 11, 2025)
  • News CCC: Reducing emissions 87% by 2040 would help ‘cut household costs by £1,400’, carbonbrief.org (Feb 26, 2025) — Themes that underpin CCC recommendations include “Implementing an engagement strategy”: stressing the importance of the government providing ”clear information to households and businesses”, including on the benefits of low-carbon choices, and “Supporting households to install low-carbon heating”: Government support is specifically needed to tackle the high up-front costs of heat-pump installations and other barriers such as “misconceptions”
  • News The former fracking site now tapped for clean geothermal heat, BBC Future (Feb 20, 2025)

2024

  • News 30 years of renewable energy: one company’s success story, positive.news (Oct 30, 2024)
  • News Profits from community windfarm to fund a million native trees in Hebrides, theguardian.com (Aug 31, 2024)
  • News Government states that Great British Energy will also work to scale up community energy projects – partnering with energy companies, local authorities and cooperatives to develop up to 8GW of small- and medium-scale projects, theguardian.com (Jul 25, 2024)
  • News Public backs move to green home heating but more government support is needed, research shows, theconversation.com (May 02, 2024) — "...in Liverpool, strong local identity and a feeling of solidarity led most participants to prefer a locally-owned system to private provision."
  • News Fuel poverty: as government support dries up, communities are taking action, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2024)
  • News Renewables produce more than 100% of Scotland's electricity demand for first time, news.stv.tv (Jan 26, 2024)

2023

  • News Britain’s roofs can be a huge resource for solar energy, theguardian.com (Dec 22, 2023)
  • News Former fracking site could lead UK’s renewable revolution, theguardian.com (Nov 05, 2023)
  • News Community solar is set to surge in the UK, and you can have a piece of the pie, positive.news (Oct 23, 2023)
  • News Locals in this British seaside town could revolutionise green energy – if the government lets them, Rebecca Willis, professor of energy and climate governance at Lancaster University, theguardian.com (Jul 18, 2023)
  • News Pumping hot: inside Britain’s first heat pump village, positive.news (Jul 12, 2023)
  • News Rooftops can provide over half our solar energy targets, report shows, cpre.org.uk (May 23, 2023)
  • News Wind is main source of UK electricity for first time, BBC News (May 11, 2023)
  • News Why Britain’s rivers could be one solution to the energy crisis, positive.news (Feb 27, 2023)

2022

  • News The cost-of-living crisis is bringing out a lot of cooperative and collective innovation - especially in Wales, The Daily Alternative (Nov 17, 2022)
  • News Bristol's forthcoming solar-powered film studio will be driven by the biggest star of them all, The Daily Alternative (Oct 31, 2022)
  • News The tallest wind-turbine in England, built by a community network full of agency, in one of Bristol's most deprived areas, The Daily Alternative (Apr 23, 2022)
  • News How Stroud council is encouraging renewables in its Local Plan, takeclimateaction.uk (Mar 09, 2022)
  • News Who owns Britain’s underground heat? Answering this could help slash energy bills and carbon emissions, The Conversation (Feb 16, 2022)
  • News A startling UK map showing how much we use land for animal agriculture - and how much solar is crowded out, The Alternative UK (Jan 24, 2022)

News sources

  • News, Microgen Scotland

News archive

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Page data
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Cite as Phil Green (2020–2025). "Community energy UK news". Appropedia. Retrieved November 28, 2025.