Project Overview
Community Energy ‘Seeing is Believing North East and Yorkshire’ is a programme that is delivered by Community Energy England, Ashden and Centre for Sustainable Energy, with funding and support from the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub.
Seeing is Believing brings together community energy organisations, local authorities, anchor institutions, community groups and regional stakeholders in the North East and Yorkshire. It shows examples of how community energy organisations and local authorities can work together, and the benefits that community energy can deliver.
The programme also seeks to highlight the importance of community energy to decision makers, show that community energy needs a place in local energy plans, and build a more resilient sector.
Seeing is Believing features site visits, tours of local projects, practical examples, webinars, networking sessions and matchmaking between local authorities and community energy organisations. The programme showcases inspiring projects across the region and enhances new partnerships that support community energy and local net-zero action. It highlights real examples of successful collaborations between local authorities and community energy organisations, demonstrating the positive impact this has had in the North East and Yorkshire.
Why Seeing is Believing Matters
Local authorities and community energy organisations increasingly share priorities: cutting carbon emissions, lowering energy bills, engaging residents in the energy transition, improving local resilience, and creating community benefit. However, turning this ambition into action can be challenging.
Seeing is Believing addresses key barriers by connecting councils and community groups with similar goals, sharing real project examples through site visits and tours, showing tangible examples of how successful collaborations have developed, and providing a platform for matchmaking to encourage new partnerships between community energy organisations and local authorities in the region.
Get Involved
Seeing is Believing is for various organisations across the North East and Yorkshire, such as local authorities, community energy organisations, voluntary sector organisations, schools, regional partners, industry professionals, faith groups and community hubs. For more email about upcoming events and how to get involved, email Faith Terry-Doyle at: f.terry-doyle@communityenergyengland.org.
Previous Events
Webinars
On 6th November 2025, we hosted the first matchmaking webinar for the project, and you can watch the recording here. This session focused on how local councils and community energy organisations are working together to make real change happen. The event was chaired by John Taylor from CEE, with presentations from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, Grand Union Community Energy, and City of York Council.
Tours and networking events
York Seeing is Believing Tour
- A tour took place on 26th November, where attendees visited the City of York’s retrofit pilot home on Vine Street and Monk Fryston and Hillam’s community energy projects, which include solar PV, batteries, and heat pumps. A partnership was formed between local community buildings, including the community centre, church hall, primary school, cricket club, and football club, to collectively work towards carbon neutrality. The tour also specifically included a visit to Monk Fryston, a Church of England primary school, where the school’s Eco Warriors guided participants around the site.
Newcastle Tour and Networking Event
- On 4th December 2025, there was a tour and networking event in Newcastle, which included a visit to a community centre and Newcastle’s heat network. Attendees had a tour of FAR community centre, who installed an air source heat pump and solar panels, supported by funding from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. This has helped them to reduce their carbon emissions and their energy bills, and they are now also exploring the possibility of EV charging. The tour then finished at Newcastle’s District Energy Centre, an innovative heat network project that provides heat to buildings from a central source via a network of underground pipes.
- This was followed by a networking event in the afternoon, where we heard from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub about how they can support groups with community energy. Climate Action Northumberland and the Rural Design Centre spoke about successful case studies in their areas, and we heard about heat networks and zoning from the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. This was then followed by a Q&A and some rich group discussions on barriers and opportunities regarding community energy in the region.
