An evening of celebration in the City of London!

23/01/2023

We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Community Energy Awards. The awards took place on Friday night (20 January) at a ceremony in London’s new City Hall. Over 150 people joined us in celebrating excellence and innovation in the sector. This was the first awards since 2019, and is made possible with support from the Cooperative Party, Greater London Authority, Younity and Naturesave Insurance.

Despite the Community Energy Sector’s most challenging year ever following the curtailment of Government policy support in numerous areas, the sector remains resilient, passionate and innovative. The awards ceremony showcased new areas of development, as well as the benefits that these projects bring to people living in the community.

The awards ceremony was hosted by Leonie Cooper, Chair of the London Environment Committee. Leonie has been a longstanding supporter of Community Energy and has hosted previous awards ceremonies for us. Speakers included: Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor of London, via video, Joe Fortune, General Secretary of the Co-operative Party, Kate Gilmartin, CEO of the British Hydropower Association, Tara Bowers from Exeter Community Energy and Nadia Smith, South East London Community Energy (SELCE) (2019’s Young Person Champion Award winner).

Helen Seagrave, Interim Chair said:

“The Community Energy Awards is one of our favourite events of the year as it highlights and reminds us what can be achieved when communities come together and invest in their future. The awards is our annual celebration of all things community energy and a chance for us to, once again, shine a light on community energy and bring together groups who share a similar ethos and vision”.

In total 11 awards were presented as representatives from community energy organisations and their supporters celebrated the innovation, expertise and passion shown by the sector, united in their aim to create an energy system that is cleaner, greener and for the benefit of people over profit.

Ahead of the ceremony, an expert panel of judges selected winners in each of the categories following an open application process; whilst the public voted for the Community Energy Photo of the Year Award, selecting the image they felt best captured the essence of the community energy movement.

Community Energy England would like to warmly thank all of the nominators, nominees, judges, sponsors and staff at City Hall for their support in making this evening of celebration happen.

You can read more details on all winners in the case studies linked below.

Community Energy Champion (Individual)

Winner: Kate Gilmartin, NW Net Zero Hub

Community Energy Champion (Team)

Winner: Community Energy London

Community Energy Organisation of the Year

Winner: Community Energy South

Highly Commended: Low Carbon Hub

Community Engagement and Inclusion Award

Winner: Repowering London

Finance and Innovation Award

Winner: Ambition Community Energy, Thrive Renewables and Bristol & Bath Regional Capital, Bristol City Council and members of the Society of Merchant Venturers.