Solar co-op lands £54k boost to cut bills and generate local income

A community energy group has secured more than £54,600 in Government funding to invest in a significant project in Maidenhead.

Big Solar Co-operative Limited, a co-op that works to ‘solarise commercial and community buildings all over the UK’, will receive £54,635 through the Government’s new Local Power Plan.

The scheme forms part of a wider package of up to £1billion aimed at helping communities develop their own clean energy projects.

It will back projects including solar panels on buildings such as libraries, leisure centres and community hubs.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the plan is designed to give communities more control over how energy is produced – and to keep more of the financial benefits local, rather than flowing to large national suppliers.

Such projects will ‘cut bills and create revenue for places of worship, social clubs, community centres,’ DESNZ claims.

“Community owned energy is the norm in other countries,” the department wrote.

“In Germany, for example, around two-fifths of installed renewable energy generation capacity is citizen-owned.

“But despite its huge potential, for too long community energy in this country has been held back by a lack of funding, advice and central government support.”

In Maidenhead, a £54,635 award will support Big Solar Co-operative Limited, which installs and manages solar arrays on rooftops such as factories, surgeries and other large premises.

The project is powered by support from members of the public and volunteers who help identify and develop sites.

More than 1,000 people have invested in the co-operative and more than 100 people give their time as volunteers.

Big Solar’s project in Maidenhead is entitled BCA Big Solar.

Funding is intended to help cover early costs such as feasibility work, planning, and project development, with the aim of getting more locally owned generation off the ground.

In Slough, another project is in motion by MaidEnergy – a small, volunteer-run community energy group based in Maidenhead.

It is receiving £31,125 for a solar power project, also overseen by the southeast Hub, and again the money is going towards feasibility studies to get the project off the ground.

Overseeing both schemes will be the Greater South East Net Zero Hub – a Government-funded support organisation that helps public bodies and community groups deliver clean energy in the southeast.

It is being funded by Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company set up by the Government last year.

Great British Energy expects to support around 1,000 projects in total over the coming years, with a mix of grants, loans and technical advice.

Alongside funding, the organisation plans to act as a central contact point for groups seeking help to develop proposals.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said the investments are intended to put ‘wealth and power back to communities’ by allowing people to own a stake in local clean energy schemes.