Practical Hope: Brighton Energy Coop

This resource is part of a collection called Practical Hope: Inspiration for Community Action.

Working to lower costs, reduce carbon footprints, and achieve energy security

About Brighton Energy Coop

Brighton Energy Coop was founded in 2010. The organisation’s founders, Damian Tow and Will Cottrell, were inspired by the 2009 Climate Conference in Denmark and the UK launch of the feed-in tariffs for solar energy. Focused on solar energy, Brighton Energy Coop owns 5MW of roof-mounted solar arrays and has worked on over 126 solar projects in the Brighton area. Brighton Energy Coop has a membership of over 750 people.

How is Brighton Energy Coop making a difference?

The work carried out by Brighton Energy Coop helps to make a difference in a number of ways. Firstly, converting to renewable energy is an essential step in tackling the climate crisis. Additionally, the switch to renewables and the growth of the community energy sector creates higher levels of energy security and makes places more resilient in the long term. Community energy also ensures that the savings made by the switch to renewable energy are felt directly by the consumer. Brighton Energy Coop’s governance structure means that decision-making is more democratic, with members having an input into the organisation’s work.

Furthermore, community outreach is an important part of the work carried out by Brighton Energy Coop. It has installed solar panels on numerous schools across Brighton and provides educational workshops on the importance of renewables and how the technology works. This outreach and commitment to education helps to prepare and equip the next generation for the societal transformations taking place over the next century. 

We need a very different way of thinking. Don’t use the existing mindset to try to achieve something that you’re not going to achieve in the business-as-usual timeframe.

Damian Tow, Co-Founder & Secretary, Brighton Energy Coop 

How did they do it?

The first two years of Brighton Energy Coop were focused on building the organisation up. For its launch event, the Coop utilised social media and its existing networks and ended up raising £20,000. The Coop started as two people and has now grown to six staff members and four non-executives, with electrical and installation work being outsourced. Over the course of the last 14 years, the organisation has built up a wealth of knowledge on community energy installation.

Brighton Energy Coop is set up as a community benefit society, in part because its supporters want to be part of something that provides social and environmental benefits and because this is a common model chosen by community energy groups.

Brighton Energy Coop’s solar systems are funded by its membership. Periodically, the Coop opens a share or bond offer and invites members of the community to invest. To date, around 700 members have invested £4.5 million. The Coop’s members then receive a return on their investment of at least 5%. Brighton Energy Coop has found that there has been consistent interest from the local community in investing in community energy, and it has had existing shareholders reinvest. However, challenges around bureaucracy have meant that working with the public sector and schools has taken longer to get off the ground due to longer decision-making processes.

Like anything, somebody gives you a break and then if you’ve proved yourself, you get to do a bigger project with them or use them as a reference for the next site.

Damian Tow, Co-Founder & Secretary, Brighton Energy Coop

Three things to unlock Brighton Energy Coop’s potential.

  1. There needs to be rapid improvement to grid capacity to maximise the possibility of community energy.
  2. Potential sites  need to make quicker decisions about energy provision to ensure we meet our targets on net zero and increasing energy demand.
  3. People need to be educated and upskilled on community energy and the wider climate emergency.

Brighton Energy Coop’s advice for new community projects:

  • If you’re motivated and passionate about your work, it can keep you going, but you need to be tenacious.
  • Secure upfront investment, as voluntary effort can only take you so far.

Relevant Links

www.brightonenergy.org.uk

www.communityenergyengland.org