Exeter Community Energy

Exeter Community Energy is a new innovative social enterprise that enables local people to take ownership of renewable energy projects in Exeter. Our first project is rooftop solar PV installations totally 400 kWp. We have successfully raised the investment required over £390,000 as community shares and a further £70,000 as short term loans. We are currently investigating renewable heat with our second UCEF grant and seeking funding for two innovative energy saving projects - Healthy Homes for Wellbeing working with people living in cold, damp homes affecting their health and in fuel poverty and a community ESCO which provide an integrated approach to domestic and commercial energy saving through smart technology, demand management, storage and installing energy saving measures. As a community-owned cooperative, we want to benefit the city, its people and the environment. One element of this is sharing the financial benefits between shareholders, a fund for community projects and investment in further energy projects. Community energy projects are making a difference across the country, strengthening communities, helping the local economy and reconnecting people to the energy they use, as they became producers as well as consumers. Our aim is to bring together people who are interested in building a sustainable future for our community, who care about climate change and the depletion of resources, and who want to reduce fuel bills, promote energy efficiency and address fuel poverty. We can work together to learn and change the way we produce, use and think about energy, and in doing so create a more sustainable, resilient and prosperous community.