Britain’s communities are being handed a major chance to take control of their energy, with £30 million of new Government funding.
This is the first wave of funding from the Government’s planned £1 billion Local Power Plan, aimed at helping communities and local authorities build their own clean energy projects – from solar panels on schools and community buildings to local wind turbines and hydro power.
And with the Government aiming to support more than 1,000 projects, Younity is urging communities to seize the opportunity and turn their ideas into reality.
Younity, a joint venture between Octopus Energy and OurCoop, is already helping almost 350 community energy projects across Britain – nearly four times as many as five years ago.
It helps local groups turn their ideas into real projects, providing finance, expert support, routes to sell the generated power on the market and ways to bring the benefits back into their communities – with more initiatives to come soon to help community energy go further, faster.
Some examples of Younity’s support include:
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The Community Energy Kickstart Loan – up to £1.5 million of fast, low-interest funding designed to help get construction underway.
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The Powering Communities Fund – grants to deliver social and environmental impact locally. So far, Younity has distributed nearly £95,000 to 27 groups.
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Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) – giving community generators a route to market for the electricity they produce and a reliable income stream.
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Community Energy Connect – Younity’s free platform connecting community energy groups with volunteers who can bring a variety of much-needed skills and expertise to their projects.
Community energy is already booming. Across England, there are already over 400MW of community-owned wind, solar and hydro projects generating enough power for over 200,000 homes while delivering £1.86 million in bill savings.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Customer Officer at Octopus Energy, said: “This is a huge opportunity for communities to take control of their energy. Younity can help to kickstart projects with cash, connections and know-how to turn bright ideas into real clean energy projects. The power is in people’s hands – now let’s get it generating.”
Andy O’Brien, Co-founder, Bristol Energy Co-operative, said, “We’re really passionate about the positive impact of green power on our community. So we’re over the moon to have got such quick access to the funds we needed to build our latest solar community energy project.”
Sarah, Director of Barnet Community Energy (London), said, “I was introduced to a whole network of people working in community energy. With Younity’s support, this led me on a journey to starting ‘Community Energy Barnet’, with big ambitions to cover the rooftops of Barnet with solar panels. Thank you, Younity!”
Community energy groups can find out more about Younity’s award-winning support here.
