News 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...

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....

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 Shoreham is quite an...

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 fact not only a menace to...

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,...

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...

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...

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 of our...

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 26-year-old website designer to a...

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 are due to a...

A recent talk on the future of community energy involving BEC

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 - for free! These...

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 efficiency surveys has been...

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 & the...

Interesting article on the communities taking renewable energy into their own hands which profiles our colleagues at OVESCo. Happy New Year!

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

Petition to exempt not-for-profit groups from Feed-in Tariff reduction

Our Solar Future petition

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 solar (the...

10:10 FiT article - and a mention of BEC!

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 bringing...

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 our...

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 olds to...

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 !

Another article in the Guardian supportive of community energy projects

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 support out there....

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.

The Guardian recommends investing in community energy schemes (see number ten).

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 green power in...