Date published: 2025-07-04 | Category: Climate Emergency, Delivering for local residents, energy efficiency, Focusing on prevention, Household energy costs, Preparing for the Future
Groups and organisations wanting to explore the potential for community-owned renewable energy projects in their area are invited to register their interest on the Bath & North East Somerset Council website.
The Energy in Your Community project is looking for three communities that are interested in developing capacity for local energy generation such as wind farms or solar farms - small-scale renewable energy projects that would be set up and owned by the community with the benefits to be retained by the community.
As part of the Community Energy Network, Energy in Your Community is a partnership project involving Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE), the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) and the University of Bath. The aim is to support the development of 5MW of community-owned renewable generation across the Bath and North East Somerset area by 2030.
Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for any local organisations who are keen to introduce community-owned renewable energy initiatives in their area and would benefit from additional resource or expertise to get a project off the ground. The communities will be offered extensive support to identify, develop and promote their schemes which, as well as cutting carbon emissions, can bring direct benefits to a community by boosting local development or creating a community energy fund for local projects. Establishing community-owned capacity will also help contribute to the council’s goal of 300MW of renewable energy generation capacity.”
Communities, whether they are ready to start exploring a project or are just curious, can register their interest on the council website, sharing information about what matters most to the community. The selection process will be based on several criteria that aim to assess local enthusiasm for and interest in community-owned renewables.
The three selected communities will work with CSE and BWCE to grow community support - attending workshops to explore local energy needs and opportunities, share ideas and views, learn about the benefits of community-owned energy and discuss what types of renewable energy might work locally.
In the second stage of the process, groups that want to develop a potential energy project further will be offered grant funding and support to outline which options are technically and financially realistic and explore local sites, funding possibilities and delivery models.
Three Bath and North East Somerset communities that took part in the Future Energy Landscape (FEL) pilots with the council and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) in 2022 have already progressed to the second stage. Residents of these areas - Peasedown and Wellow, Temple Cloud and Hinton Blewitt and Stowey Sutton and East and West Harptree - who have not previously been involved, can complete the online form to be linked to the existing group.
The Future Energy Landscape (FEL) methodology that CSE developed will guide this phase of the project.
Neil Best, Senior Town Planner and community engagement expert from the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) said: “We’re pleased to scale up our method to help shape a community-informed and locally grounded energy transition. This project highlights how tailored, place-based approaches can support smarter, fairer progress toward net zero.”
Communities can complete an online form to register their interest, but if you have any questions or require an alternative format (such as large print, braille, audio, or a downloadable version for printing), please contact Community_Energy@bathnes.gov.uk. You can also call 01225 477615 if you would prefer to complete the form over the phone.
The closing date for registering your interest is 5pm, Friday 1 August.
Energy in Your Community is part of the three-year Community Energy Network that received £1.5m funding from The National Lottery Climate Action Fund. Bath & North East Somerset Council partnered with Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE), The University of Bath and the Community Wellbeing Hub to successfully bid for the funding.
The funding will also support the creation of a network of Energy Champions, based within community groups, frontline services and third sector and health organisations across B&NES. They will be supporting peers, neighbours, communities and colleagues to access support around home energy, retrofit and renewables through a programme of local advice drop-ins and events and home visits providing basic draughtproofing and energy efficiency measures.
More information about the Community Energy Network can be found on the council website.
ENDS
Photo caption: Centre for Sustainable Energy, a community energy workshop