Brighton Energy Co-op

Creating community funded solar energy systems in Brighton.

3,262 t
Est. annual reduction in carbon
emissions (tonnes CO2 eq)

4,500
Est. number of people
who benefit directly

Our story

Brighton Energy Coop’s idea is simple: everyone puts in a bit of cash and collectively we build big solar energy systems. Money from selling solar electric gets distributed back to members, and to our Community Fund.

We have hundreds of members from in and out of the Brighton & Hove area – together we’ve already built more than £3million of community-funded solar PV.

BEC was inspired by a trip to the Paris Climate Change Conference COP21 back in 2015 by BEC Director, Will Cottrell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJqwu4jkSDs

Our advice

Brighton Energy Co-op's Will Cottrell - ideas for marketing your community energy project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08qPMRITABY

A lot of useful research is contained in this award-winning MSc dissertation done by a SPRU researcher from Sussex University, who shadowed BEC for a couple of years.

http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/53383/1/hielscherbrightonenergyreport.pdf.

Our metrics

Amount of solar electric produced: 3325mWh
Number of educational facilities given free solar.
Number of local businesses given free solar.
Amount of £s saved by our solar partners.
Number of solar-connected EV chargers.
Number of educational facilities in BEC Solar Education Programme
Number of members investing in community-owned solar electric.
Interest payments received by our members.
Read more
Share this initiative
First community-owned solar connected electric vehicle charger in the South
BEC works with colleges & universities to create large scale solar projects
Schools & nurseries depend on BEC to reduce their energy bills
Inspired? Find out more

Other stories

Gwyneth Jones

Egin

A programme that aims to unlock the collective power of communities in Wales to tackle the climate crisis and live more sustainably, with a focus on those communities who are the most likely to be affected by climate change.

Sam Wilberforce

Discounted Solar Panels Scheme Around Bridport

Using the bargaining power of group-buying, members of Sustainable Bridport (formerly Transition Town Bridport) negotiated bulk buying discounts with suppliers to make solar PV accessible and affordable to more prospective renewable energy enthusiasts.

Alice Vodden

Net Zero Now

Net Zero Now is a free training programme designed by Cambridge Carbon Footprint to give locals the knowledge and confidence to support their community in accelerating the move to net zero emissions.

Richard Watkins

Save Our Shropshire

SOS runs courses for householders, councils, parish and town council clerks and councillors, in conjunction with the Carbon Literacy Project, encouraging attendees to make personal and group pledges to reduce their carbon footprint.

Phil Dobson

upCYCLE LDN

upCYCLE delivers interactive bike maintenance classes in Brixton to young people from ethnic minority groups, helping to address the lack of diversity in London’s cycling community.

Team Wales

Generation, Supply, Consumption, Storage (GSCS) Project

The GSCS Project is creating up to seven innovative Local Energy Centres in South Wales and the Valleys (with potential for future rollout across the UK) to offer local businesses access to cheaper, greener electricity from renewable sources.