Food for thought when thinking of starting an energy coop:
Support and information for community groups and social enterprises setting up community-led photovoltaic projects, written by BEC in conjunction with the National Energy Foundation.
Great advice from the Community Shares unit on how to go about starting a Cooperative – an invaluable document that helped us start Brighton Energy Coop.
Another great document from the Community Shares unit – this one looks at what you’re going to need in place on the business side – again, this was used extensively at BEC.
Essential reading from Shares.coop which breaks down who your audience will be – what they read, their motivations, how much they tend invest, and plenty more demographic breakdowns.
Research from the University of Cambridge which gives demographic breakdowns who invests in community shares, how much they tend to earn, age ranges, etc, as well as a sectoral overview – CTRL F and enter ‘community shares’ – there’s plenty of other stuff here!
A research project by Sussex University on Brighton Energy Coop – done by a researcher who followed the founding BEC team through two years of starting up the Coop.
Resources:
Pure Leapfrog offer invaluable support and advice to energy coops
The Community Shares unit specialises in advice and research in forming coops
