Who we are
Community Energy England was founded in 2014 by practitioners within the community energy sector to act as the voice of the sector and help put people at the heart of the energy system. In the years since, our membership has grown to over 300 community energy organisations and a range of other stakeholder organisations. We have cemented this position and steadily increased our expertise, activities, impact and membership, whilst remaining the only organisation dedicated to representing and supporting the community energy sector in England. This work is underpinned by our uniquely extensive network and connections within the sector and amongst relevant government and other stakeholders.
All our work is intended to help clear obstacles, create connections between practitioners and stakeholders, and facilitate the work of community energy organisations, thereby benefiting the sector as a whole. We are there to help when issues and policy changes affect community energy organisations' ability to create and implement projects.
Our vision is: A thriving community energy sector integrated into and truly powering a fair, zero-carbon energy system. | Our mission is: To create the conditions within which community energy is able to thrive and scale. |
We are governed by a Board of Directors and managed by Emma Bridge, the Chief Executive, and her team.
Click here to read more about our governance and download our annual reports, which tell you about our activity and achievements over the last few years.
Membership is the heart of Community Energy England - find out more about membership and apply to join.
What we do
Listening to our members and the broader sector and its stakeholders is central to how we operate. On the basis of what we see and hear within the sector and our analysis of the broader policy landscape, economic outlook and energy system context, we have focused our work on two strategic objectives:
1. Make politicians, national and local government officials, network operators & regulators, aware of community energy benefits, needs, opportunities and policy obstacles, and lobby for supportive policy/regulations. | 2. Provide opportunities and mechanisms for active community energy practitioners in all parts of England to connect, learn, share business models and help each other overcome obstacles. |
This graphic (download here) explains our organisation's objectives and strategic priorities, the activities we carry out in pursuit of these objectives and the impact we intend this work to have.
What we don't do
We do not get directly involved in developing community energy projects and our team cannot give technical advice for setting up a community energy project - if you are looking for advice or guidance, please visit the How To section of our website or look for consultants, installers, O&M providers and project developers on our member map.
We are also happy to help connect our members with people and organisations who can give project development advice and other assistance with running a community energy organisation. Please consider joining us to benefit from our extensive network.
How we are funded
Community Energy England is a not-for-profit organisation funded by charitable grants, membership fees and other project and event sponsorship. We are grateful to all organisations who contribute financially to our work to support the sector and help it grow, including our generous grant funders:
