Bright Beginnings: Surrey Community Energy’s First Year

Douwe Boesveld joined SCE as a volunteer to learn new skills in the energy sector. You can see Douwe (the back of his head at least) putting these new skills to use, as he models a solar installation on a rooftop. Below, Douwe writes about SCE's progress in our first year.

Over our first 12 months Surrey Community Energy (SCE) has upskilled local residents in a range of new competences from solar modelling to marketing, which can help us supply more businesses and community spaces with cheaper electricity. We are now approaching the installation of our first project, with a 2nd in the pipeline. Combined, these projects will save 40t of carbon dioxide equivalent (or CO₂e) , every year. 

That’s the equivalent emissions of driving around the equator 6 times in a diesel car! 

86% of Surrey residents think that renewable energy should be a government priority according to research by the county council. SCE’s activity is a step toward lower energy bills for businesses, charities and community halls in Surrey whilst providing an example of how collaboration across our communities can build energy independence for Surrey, create new jobs in a rapidly growing sector, and provide investment opportunities that will give you a better return than your bank. 

Read on to find out how we’re progressing - and how you can get involved.

Surrey Community Energy's Progress

With the support of Surrey County Council (SCC) and Community Energy Pathways (CEP), SCE was established as a Community Benefit Society in September 2024. Since then, we’ve hosted launch and community information events, resulting in a growing volunteer base. This group of volunteers contains individuals with a wealth of professional experiences, including finance, energy, engagement and more.

Our volunteer base and support from SCC and CEP has allowed us to build capacity in setting up financial systems, modelling software and key training; laying a strong foundation for SCE’s future.

Working closely with Community Energy Pathways, we carried out extensive investigations into several potential solar energy sites. This has proved successful, and we are delighted to announce that we have partnered with Birtley House Nursing Home on our first installation.

Alongside this, we hope to partner with a higher education provider to install roof-mounted solar at a Surrey college. This will allow us to install solar power at both sites without the landlord or tenant fronting the costs, whilst they reap the benefits of stable electricity bills lower than their current prices.

We plan on installing 110 kWp of ground and rooftop solar panels at Birtley House and - hopefully - a further 110 kWp of rooftop solar panels at the college. Together, this is estimated to generate roughly 210 MWh per year, which is equivalent to powering about 75 British homes per year. Not only will this be a cheap source of electricity for the sites, it will also reduce their carbon footprints by a total of around 40 t CO₂e per year. 

So, what’s next? Well, we’re nearly ready for construction at the nursing home and are now exploring our financing options. We have submitted a bid to the revamped Community Energy Fund, now known as the Great British Energy Community Fund, and are hoping this will boost our operations and help us progress the install quickly. If our application is unsuccessful we’ll be releasing a community share offer (explanation below). We expect the solar array to be fully operational by May 2026, though community energy projects can be slow, so this is subject to change. Keep your fingers crossed!

A Brief Explainer on Community Energy

The first step is finding a suitable site for renewable energy production. Amongst many other factors, the site’s management must be able to lease ground or roof space for 15-20 years. As you can imagine, this can be tricky - and is one of the reasons it can be a long process to install community energy generation schemes.

Once a feasibility study has been carried out and the landlord is on board, contractors are invited to tender, compliance activities are carried out, Power Purchase Agreements (a contract for the sale of electricity) are signed, and financing is sought. 

Financing these projects is where Community Energy groups really come into their own. Large scale solar arrays are expensive to build, so Community Energy groups act as a facilitator. They generate financing by mobilising their profits from commercial activities, crowdfunding via community share offers, or utilising their access to government grants.

The most common source of funding is through community share offers. These are very similar to the sort of shares sold on stock markets, in that it allows the buyer to purchase a stake in the company, and community energy shares typically give the investor a 4-5% annual return on their investment.

Because we handle investments, a key step in becoming a community benefit society that deals with share offers is registering with the Financial Conduct Authority. This ensures that proper compliance procedures are followed when handling investments and returns for shareholders.

So, the advantage to investors and SCE is clear. Investors are able to support ethical, community centric projects whilst earning interest on their investment. Meanwhile, community energy groups gain the funds to conduct their operations and generate revenue, which is reinvested into local community projects (as it’s legally obliged to do under its status as a Community Benefit Society). 

But how does the solar site benefit? This is where the Power Purchase Agreement comes in. This is basically a formal agreement stating at what price the site will purchase the energy produced by the solar panels. Importantly, the community energy group will always aim to sell the electricity at a cheaper price than the grid, that way everyone wins. The reduction in energy bills allows sites such as Birtley House to invest more into what really matters; like providing quality care and education. 

Want to find out more or get involved?

We'll be at the Guildford Energy Showcase Nov 1st- come along to chat to us about community energy.

We’re always on the lookout for volunteers, so if you would like to get involved please head over to our website where you can get in touch with us. You can also take on a more casual role and simply get in touch if you see any sites, that do not generate their own renewable energy, have high on-site energy consumption and large, unused, unshaded roof or ground space. This is a great starting point for us to explore potential partnerships.

If you would like to invest in any of our projects, or simply stay updated with our work, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIN, as we will keep these updated with our progress and notify you of upcoming share offers.