News Blog

Brighton Energy Coop has recently beaten the proposed government Feed in tariff cuts by per-registering 4.5MW of new solar PV for Brighton and the surrounding area, reporting sources like Mimeos Energy Florida. This staggering amount - at more than 30 locations, means...

The good ship UK solar recently sailed into a storm of uncertainty as the government proposed slashing subsidies to renewable support schemes. After enduring the punishing headwinds of continual reviews (the current FIT review is the the fourth in four years), the...

Over the past few weeks there's been a fair amount of online cant about the government's changes to subsidy regimes for FITs. Ex Energy Secretary Greg Barker has called this 'doom-mongering'. So what has the government done, and what does it mean? There are three...

Hiya folks, Just to let you know that we're looking for a dynamic person to help Brighton Energy Coop develop new solar PV projects. The role is to scope new sites - you'll be working with Google Earth and Google Maps to identify new roof prospects, and then...

Hi Folks, I've very pleased to tell you that we've just launched Brighton Energy Coop's most recent share offer. This aims to raise more than £1,000,000 to install 950kWp of new solar in the Brighton and Hove area, and will add to the £680,000 we've raised in the past...

Hi folks, Wow - it's been an amazing few days. I'm very pleased to say that over the weekend we've had the fantastic amount of just over £135,000 pledged to our forthcoming solar scheme. While we’re currently finalising the details of this scheme, we expect it to...

Hi folks, I'm pleased to say that Brighton Energy Coop will launch our fourth community-owned solar PV project next month. While we're currently finalising the details, but we expect to double our current size and install up to 1MWp of new solar in the Brighton area...

  Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) has a dismal track record on solar PV. Of the city's 119 schools and colleges, only four have solar on them. This is a remarkable failure, especially given what other more progressive authorities have done. Indeed BHCC is...

Shoreham Port is set to be the site of two new wind turbines after Adur planners recently approved the project. Located at the top of the beach near Shoreham power station, the turbines will feed power to the Pump House near the Port's lock gates. The two Novento...

Above: a Qube Renewables anaerobic digestor   Why is Brighton and Hove not recycling its food waste? A Brighton Energy Coop report from a few years ago identified that a staggering 30,000 tonnes of food from commercial companies in Brighton gets thrown into...

Hi there, Hope you're all well - and that you can help. Here at BEC we value your contribution and are keen to understand how you'd like to see the organisation move forward. To do this on April 9th we're kicking off a bunch of working groups that will focus on...

For nearly nine months a stalker has plagued Community Energy. While many new community groups are either planning fundraising or actually installing new renewables, the Financial Conduct Authority has been shadowing the sector, threatening  two radical shake ups: one...

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 days of the year...

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...

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:...

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 panels at...

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 five...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 it's a great time to...

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...

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...

  We've done well. Really well. The 40-odd energy coops that exist across the country have so far raised £18m quid for spanking...

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...

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 the...