by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 6, 2015 | Blog |
Hi everyone, Hope you’re all well in this bitter chill. Here at Brighton Energy Coop we’ve encouraging news: while the weather seems pretty grim, our solar generation is picking up as we head away from January. Indeed, we’ve just had the sunniest 3...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 22, 2015 | Blog |
Last week Brighton Energy Coop hosted a delegation from Chile, visiting Brighton to look at innovative sustainability models that might be taken home to South America. Led by the British Embassy in Santiago, delegates included the representatives from the Chilean...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog |
Community energy is set for an impressive year. With more than 180 projects registered in 2013, many of these are now coming to fruition. Most of these are solar, so a key component for these schemes is obviously how much they should pay for their renewables kit. So:...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Dec 20, 2014 | Blog |
Hi folks, Well, the year is nearly at an end so I thought I’d give you an update on how Brighton Energy Coop’s solar PV systems have been performing to date. You may recall that earlier in the year we raised £480,000 to install several thousand solar...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 25, 2014 | Blog |
Earlier this year we got together with Enertis Solar, an independent company specialising in technical assessment and engineering services for solar PV. We wanted Enertis to take a good look at our new community-owned systems at Shed 10 in Shoreham Port – one of...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 26, 2014 | Blog |
Energy Minister Greg Barker (centre) and Hove MP Mike Weatherley (right) on the roof of Shed 3a at Shoreham Port this morning Energy Minister Greg Barker returned to visit Brighton Energy Coop again today. Last September the minister liked what he saw at our St...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 24, 2014 | Blog |
Over the last week we have continued fitting panels at our new 200kwp solar system at Shed 3a, Shoreham Port. Our bright yellow inverters also arrived and were put into position and the grid connection cable established. While there remains work to do on the...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 19, 2014 | Blog |
Hi folks, Given that we’re in the middle of our fifth new community-owned installation, there’s an interesting debate on the 27th June on the ‘Future of Community Energy’ at Brighton’s EcoTechnology Show, 12-13.00. Where are we going with...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 18, 2014 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop kicked off our fifth project this week – a 200kw installation at Shed 3a in Shoreham Port, Sussex. We had to get a crane hire to help us lift the heavy stuff. 818 panels currently sit on the dockside of the port, waiting to be hoisted onto...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 5, 2014 | Blog |
First published on Sustainable Development Blog by BEC director Ross Gilbert Getting an export meter takes time and patience. It makes sense to start this process before installing your system as – crucially – payments are not made until you’ve got your meter in...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 2, 2014 | Blog |
There’s something of a debate in solar land as to the benefits of south facing solar installations vs setups that are installed on an east/west orientation. Using a case study of one of our installations at Hove Enterprise Centre in Portslade (above, total size...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 31, 2014 | Blog |
Balcombe hit the headlines again this week: not because of the Sauron-like threat of evil Cuadrilla, but because plucky locals in the village have started their own community energy scheme: REPOWERBalcombe. Indeed, REPOWERBalcombe is one of 15 energy coops launched...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 26, 2014 | Blog |
Shed 10 at Shoreham Port, where we installed nearly 1000 solar panels in December. We’re currently fundraising for a similar sized system close by Hi Folks, I’m sure you don’t need reminding but the end of the tax year is almost upon us, so...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 19, 2014 | Blog |
Above: the largest community-owned solar farm in the UK: Westmill Solar Coop near Oxford, where 5000 local people own £16 million of solar PV. Many places across the country are seeing solar farm developments. Interestingly, the Department of Energy and Climate Change...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 13, 2014 | Blog |
Hi folks, If you’re interested to find out more about community energy, and the challenges that more renewables pose to our grid infrastructure, come along to the inaugural talk in the POWER TO THE PEOPLE series in Brighton, organised by our friends at Community...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 2, 2014 | Blog |
We’ve done well. Really well. The 40-odd energy coops that exist across the country have so far raised £18m quid for spanking new renewable installations. In 2013 131 new energy coops were registered, so we’re looking forward to seeing things grow hugely...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 26, 2014 | Blog |
Hi folks, Brighton Energy Coop has now raised the rather incredible total of £400,000, leaving just £50,000 before we can install our second huge solar project at Shoreham Port. You can help us achieve our latest target: by becoming a member of Brighton Energy Coop...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 16, 2014 | Blog |
Romantic Copenhagen, 2009. Enormous halls filled with the world’s great and good; thousands gathered for the COP15 Climate conference. Despite all the the talk, a resounding silence. At the same time, my climate virginity was taken. In the large hole left by by...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 4, 2014 | Blog |
Meridian TV did a great job this weekend covering our call for Prime Minister David Cameron to come and visit Brighton Energy Coop. Check out their coverage here – it’s also a great opportunity to see the huge scale of our recent install at Shoreham Port....
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 29, 2014 | Blog |
At Prime Minister’s Questions today Brighton MP Caroline Lucas invited David Cameron to visit Brighton Energy Coop and see what clean, affordable energy generation really looks like. We’d like to second that (we’re a hospitable bunch): you’d be...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 19, 2014 | Blog |
Hi folks, I’ve very pleased to say that our new 212kWp solar array at Shoreham Port is now ready to generate. Delivered on time and on budget, we’ve just a few more things to connect to the grid and we’ll be ready to go! And we’re not finished...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Dec 10, 2013 | Blog |
Having successfully raised the money for Phase 1 of our new project, last week we began installation. Click below to view our Project Update, including images and details of our exciting solar install at Shoreham Port. While this is going on we are simultaneously...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Dec 1, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop has now achieved the amazing feat of raising £280,000 for our new solar PV projects. It’s been amazing experience to be on the receiving end of nearly £10,000 every day for the last five weeks – we couldn’t have done it without...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 26, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop has now achieved the amazing feat of raising £280,000 for our new solar PV projects. It’s been amazing experience to be on the receiving end of nearly £10,000 every day for the last five weeks – we couldn’t have done it without...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 15, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop has now raised more than £200,000 in just 3 weeks for our new project, and we’ve now nearly achieved our first funding target. Thanks to all our new members and those who have extended their existing shareholdings: we couldn’t have...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 11, 2013 | Blog |
Hi Folks, As we continue to raise funds for our exciting new solar systems, lots of people have contacted us about how the scheme works, so I thought I’d outline here a bit about what our new project means for investors from a financial point of view. Investing...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 8, 2013 | Blog |
Community organisation Brighton Energy Coop (BEC) has raised more than ￡130,000 for a huge new solar project – just 13 days after launching the scheme. Last year the Coop raised ￡240,000 and installed solar PV at three sites in the Brighton area. This year BEC aims to...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 6, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop has raised more than ￡100,000 from its latest share offer – in just 12 days. This is a fantastic achievement and many thanks to all of our new members, as well as existing members who have chosen to increase the number of shares they hold in...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 28, 2013 | Blog |
[twocol_one]On Friday night we launched our new project: 500kWp of solar PV on 7 large buildings in Brighton and beyond. By joining Brighton Energy Coop you’ll help support our ambition, and help add more to the solar capacity of the South of England. We aim to...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 24, 2013 | Blog |
Green MP Caroline Lucas and Guardian Executive Editor Jo Confino will be at the launch of Brighton Energy Coop’s second project tomorrow night. This exciting new project will see more than half a million pounds of community-owned solar PV installed in and around...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 15, 2013 | Blog |
Guardian Executive Editor Jo Confino is set to address the launch of Brighton Energy Coop’s second project on 25th October. Jo is a heavy-hitter in the world of sustainability: as well as his executive position at the Guardian he’s also chairman and...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 11, 2013 | Blog |
BEC will hold its Annual General Meeting on Friday 25th October at the Brighthelm Centre, Brighton, at 6pm. Later the same evening we’re also launching Brighton Energy Coop #2, an extraordinary new solar development that will grow BEC hugely and install a...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 7, 2013 | Blog |
For Immediate Release Brighton Energy Coop 2 launch event, 25th October, Brighthelm Centre, Brighton, 7.30pm After raising £240,000 last year, local Brighton organisation Brighton Energy Coop (BEC) is set to launch it’s second solar project on the 25th October....
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 18, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop recently received a grant from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to push forward on a new plan to convert Brighton’s food waste to electricity and heat. This process is called anaerobic digestion and uses the natural heat produced by...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 10, 2013 | Blog |
A few months ago the government set up a new fund to kick start community energy schemes. The Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) is designed to get the ball rolling – the first bit of the fund is a grant of up to £20,000. To apply for the fund, you need to be...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 7, 2013 | Blog |
Yesterday Energy Minister Greg Barker and Kemptown MP Simon Kirby met Brighton Energy Coop to discuss community energy in Sussex. The two MPs inspected our solar systems on St George’s Church, along with members of the St George’s team. Mr Barker was very...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 5, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop’s solar installations have been reveling in the glorious weather: this summer has been a stunning opportunity to see our panels pumping out clean electricity at full force. Above is the output from our system at City Coast Church –...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 7, 2013 | Blog |
Hi folks, Exciting news! Within the next few months Brighton Energy Coop will launch our second project, which will add more than 400kw of new solar capacity to our current systems. We’ll be doing it the same way as we did our first project last year – via...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 6, 2013 | Blog |
XTRACT FROM HANSARD Tuesday 22 January 2013 Tom Greatrex: I beg to move amendment 42, in clause 6, page 5, line 4, at end insert— ‘( ) Regulations must— (a) place a duty on the Secretary of State and the Authority to promote new generation capacity from community...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 22, 2013 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop has just qualified for EIS tax status. This means investors in BEC can claim 30% of the money they invested into Brighton Energy Coop as an EIS tax rebate. To do this, email info (at) brightonenergy.org.uk and we’ll then provide you with a...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Dec 10, 2012 | Blog |
Something unthinkable is about to happen in the energy sector. Something so far away from the edge-of-a-precipice feeling that often envelopes renewable energy that it’s hard – at first – to comprehend. And yet it will utterly transform our...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 23, 2012 | Blog |
In contrast to public perception, solar power just gets cheaper and cheaper. The price of some panels have fallen up to 28% in 2012, and most panels are becoming 3-5% cheaper each month. The falling price of solar has nothing to do with the UK. Instead, it’s...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 9, 2012 | Blog |
Hi folks, Well, we’ve been the proud owner of our solar systems for three months now, so I’m pleased to enclose a bit of data as to how they’re performing. Do feel free to share the following images on Facebook etc! Below you’ll also find a...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 24, 2012 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop is calling for companies developing renewables to support community-energy schemes, following the launch of a consultation by DECC. Our proposal is that private renewable energy developments help finance locally-owned energy projects as part of...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 3, 2012 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop’s solar systems are outperforming expectations by at least 10% since we installed in mid July. As the graphs here show, our solar system at Hove Enterprise Centre (HEC – 66% of our total system) has now generated nearly 20,000 KwH of...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 25, 2012 | Blog |
CityCoast Church is hosting one of Brighton Energy Co-op’s solar arrays. Here, Simon Lewis, operations manager at the church, explains why they got involved and what benefits the energy scheme will bring. Today, the scaffolding went up on CityCoast Centre in...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 24, 2012 | Blog |
Hi Folks, The Guardian’s ‘Money’ section yesterday recommended community-minded investors take a look at Brighton Energy Coop as a place to put their money. As the piece says, community schemes offer savers 6%-8% returns a year and a clear...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 19, 2012 | Blog |
Exciting news: forty of our solar panels were installed today at Shoreham Port. These are the first of our community-owned solar array at the Hove Enterprise Centre; 200 more will go on our five roofs there in the next few weeks. Together they will form the largest...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 19, 2012 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Co-op is following a tested business model. It was punctiliously been researched from websites like https://www.salesforce.com/solutions/small-business-solutions/resources/what-is-a-small-business/ and ensured that it was a tried-and-tested method....
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 13, 2012 | Blog |
Hi folks, It’s been a dynamic few weeks here at BEC. I’m very pleased to say that we’ve so far raised more than £120,000, which has helped us begin our installation at Shoreham Port. After two years of work on the project, visiting the roofs at...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 9, 2012 | Blog |
A new wave of ‘unconventional gas’ in the UK (including fracking) is a direct threat to the roll-out of renewable energy in the UK. Often touted as a ‘bridge’ between coal-based electricity generation and renewables, unconventional gas is in...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 30, 2012 | Blog |
Units 1-9 at Hove Enterprise Centre, roughly half of our 87kw array Brighton Energy Coop began the installation of an 87kw solar array earlier this week. Owned by the Brighton and Hove community, the array, which covers five buildings at the Hove Enterprise Centre,...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 27, 2012 | Blog |
Brighton Energy Coop is calling for part community ownership of the forthcoming Rampion offshore wind farm. Along with many other groups, individuals and politicians, BEC believes that community ownership of a turbine or two would help generate widespread...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 20, 2012 | Blog |
A senior government minister congratulated Brighton Energy Co-op in the House of Commons on Thursday. Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, was responding to a question from Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion. She asked: “Will the...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 18, 2012 | Blog |
On Wednesday night Brighton Energy Co-operative launched our pioneering project to generate community-owned green power in Brighton & Hove. Seventy people joined us at the Friend’s Meeting House, to hear about our £200,000 share offer and to pick up copies...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 14, 2012 | Blog |
Hi folks, I’m very pleased to say that £45,000 has been pledged for our community-owned renewable energy scheme so far. It’s a fantastic response – many thanks to those of you who’ve been in touch. Pledgees range far and wide – from a...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 14, 2012 | Blog |
A dramatic fall in the price of solar has meant solar schemes are once again viable – even with the severe cuts in the Feed in Tariff. Over the last six months the price of solar has fallen steeply – in some cases by up to 70%. The falls in solar prices...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 23, 2012 | Blog |
A recent talk on the future of community energy involving BEC
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 13, 2012 | Blog |
Hi everyone, I’m pleased to say that we have extended our home energy survey scheme to new areas of our city. So: if you’re in Hove, Hangleton, Southwick, Aldrington, or West Blatchington you can now have your home’s energy efficiency surveyed...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 9, 2012 | Blog |
100 homes surveyed – and counting! Hi Folks, Just to let you know that – together with our partners – we’ve now advised more than a hundred homeowners how to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run. The enthusiasm for our free home...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Feb 15, 2012 | Blog |
Hi Folks, I’m very pleased to say that we recently received a grant of £30k via the government’s LEAF fund for work on energy efficiency around Brighton and Hove. Working with the Low Carbon Trust, the Green Building Partnership, Brighton & Hove 10:10...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jan 7, 2012 | Blog |
Interesting article on the communities taking renewable energy into their own hands which profiles our colleagues at OVESCo. Happy New Year!
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 23, 2011 | Blog |
For those of you interested in finding out more about the Green Deal and inputting to the consultation you may want to come to this Greening Campaign event on 1st Dec at the Clarendon Centre
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 21, 2011 | Blog |
Petition to exempt not-for-profit groups from Feed-in Tariff reduction
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 14, 2011 | Blog |
Our Solar Future petition
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 11, 2011 | Blog |
Hi there, I write with an update on what’s going on with Brighton Energy Coop after the government’s unexpected Feed in Tariff review last week. As I mentioned in my previous post, the new FIT tariffs make it very difficult to proceed with a 120kWp of...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 9, 2011 | Blog |
10:10 FiT article – and a mention of BEC!
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 3, 2011 | Blog |
If you would like to contribute to the FiT consultation and comment on the rapidity and size of the cuts please do so at the following link before 23/12. We will lobbying hard for a favourable ‘community tariff’ so that we can continue with our plans of...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Nov 1, 2011 | Blog |
Hi there, I’m very sorry to say that – although we have fought supremely hard – we have been forced to postpone our share offer launch tomorrow, after this week’s Government announcement of cuts to the feed-in-tariff. We have made this decision reluctantly, but...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 31, 2011 | Blog |
Hi there, Well, it’s been an interesting couple of weeks. First: our community has now pledged an incredible £155,000 to the Brighton Energy Coop project – a fantastic achievement. Pledges range from £400 pounds to £20,000 and have come from sixteen years...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 26, 2011 | Blog |
I have just been told by Emma Birch of Naturesave Insurance that we have been awarded £1250 from the Naturesave Trust towards our project costs, which is certainly very welcome. Thanks very much !
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 24, 2011 | Blog |
Another article in the Guardian supportive of community energy projects
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 19, 2011 | Blog |
It’s been an exciting week. Since we announced our share launch last week, £65,000 has been pledged for community-owned renewable energy in Brighton and Hove. Many thanks to all of you who have pledged your interest – it’s fantastic to have so much...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 18, 2011 | Blog |
Father Andrew, Vicar of Kemptown and Rural Dean of Brighton talks about why St George’s Church in Kemptown has agreed to host Brighton Energy Co-op panels.
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 16, 2011 | Blog |
The Guardian recommends investing in community energy schemes (see number ten).
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 13, 2011 | Blog |
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Oct 12, 2011 | Blog |
Hi everyone, I’m very pleased to tell you that Brighton Energy Co-op will launch its share offer on 2 November, at the Friend’s Meeting House at 7pm. Do come along – this will be your chance to join this pioneering initiative for community-owned...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 13, 2011 | Blog |
The UK’s biggest community renewables organisation, Energy4All, recently raised £540k for an extension to the Kilbraur wind farm in Scotland. Existing shareholders of Kilbraur were invited purchase further shares to raise capital for the project. The move...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Sep 1, 2011 | Blog |
Two Japanese professors visited Brighton Energy Co-op this morning to investigate how community energy might work in Japan. “After the nuclear disaster in Fukashima,” said professor Takeshi Wada, of Kyoto University, “it’s imperative Japan...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Aug 19, 2011 | Blog |
I am very pleased to say that we are in discussions with the management of www.citycoastchurch.co.uk to install upto 35kWs of solar PV there. We will need planning approval and legal agreements in place, but this potential partnership helps us significantly in being...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Aug 15, 2011 | Blog |
We have just found that we have received planning permission from B&H Council for installing solar panels at Hove Enterprise Centre. Another positive milestone on the journey to community-owned renewable energy!
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Aug 2, 2011 | Blog |
We are happy to announce that negotiations are at an advanced stage with Shoreham Port for installing upto 50kW of solar panels at the Hove Enterprise Centre and the planning application is due for approval by the end of August. We have also agreed with the Parish...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jul 24, 2011 | Blog |
An interesting article highlighting that the deals on solar panels are better than ever and with the FiT likely to drop after March 2012 its worth taking action now on installing PV –...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jul 19, 2011 | Blog |
Community group in North Yorkshire launches new hydro scheme – http://tiny.cc/nnfzm
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jul 5, 2011 | Blog |
Labour questions Government’s move to cut solar feed-in tariffs for installations over 50 kW.
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 26, 2011 | Blog |
2010 turnover of £16.1bn; membership of nearing 10 million – The Guardian
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Jun 10, 2011 | Blog |
We were asked for our comments on the outcome of the FiT consultation process published yesterday and managed to get a paragraph in this Guardian article http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/09/community-renewables-funding. We have been working on the...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 24, 2011 | Blog |
45KW hydro scheme launches in Yorkshire http://bit.ly/iklz0n
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 10, 2011 | Blog |
Please help make BEC a success by supporting our funding application at http://www.energyshare.com/brighton-energy-cooperative/
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 10, 2011 | Blog |
I was fortunate enough to attend a roundtable meeting with Greg Barker of DECC yesterday morning organised by Zoe Osmond of Brighton University. It was a positive meeting focussed on the Green Deal and there should be some interesting announcements in Parliament today...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 5, 2011 | Blog |
Have a listen to the interview starting at 2hrs42mins50secs here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00gckks/Sussex_Breakfast_05_05_2011/
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 5, 2011 | Blog |
Thought I’d post our response to DECC’s review on Feed in Tariff’s. Feel free to post your own response via this link. 1. Do you agree or disagree that there is a need to limit access to FITs for large scale solar PV installations in order to meet...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | May 2, 2011 | Blog |
We are progressing well with developing our portfolio of roofs to install PV on and planning our summer community share launch. We are though looking for an additional 2 or 3 roofs for hosting solar panels as part of our community-owned solar power station project. ...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Apr 20, 2011 | Blog |
I thought that I would post up links to 4 webinars that I have hosted recently on community energy issues on the www.communitycentral.co.uk platform. Just click on the links below and then playback the webinars: 1) Finance: funding options beyond LCCC including debt...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Apr 13, 2011 | Blog |
I thought that I would post up links to 3 webinars that I have hosted recently on community energy issues on the www.communitycentral.co.uk platform. Just click on the links below and then playback the webinars: 1) Finance: funding options beyond LCCC including debt...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Apr 11, 2011 | Blog |
I’ve been thinking about the idea of resilience quite a lot recently. On the ‘macro’ scale, initiating a community-owned renewable energy project is inspired by the need for us to become more resilient in the face of climate change and peak oil. Clearly installing...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 24, 2011 | Blog |
While the FIT review is targeted at large scale installations, the reclassification of solar projects over 50kW as ‘large scale’ threatens community schemes too. The question for government, therefore, is at what scale can community energy projects succeed? This post...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 23, 2011 | Blog |
Whilst the Feed In Tariff (FIT) review has prompted huge disappointment across the solar industry in the UK, FIT regimes across the continent have been unstable for a couple of years. So what causes governments to wobble on FITs? Too many projects Fundamentally, the...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 8, 2011 | Blog |
Hi Everyone, Last month I mentioned we’d have some big news and here it is: Jeremy Leggett has joined the advisory board of Brighton Energy Co-op. This is a major step forward for us – Jeremy is probably the biggest figure in British solar. As well as...
by Will Cottrell, Chairman, Brighton Energy Coop | Mar 7, 2011 | Blog |
Twitter is ablaze with talk of the protests planned by some Saudi citizens next Friday. Saudi troops are already being deployed around the Kingdom. Before there was any sense that contagion might spread even to Saudi Arabia, some analysts were warning of $220 oil...
