Unlocking the power of community

As we mark this year’s Community Energy Fortnight, I’m filled with hope and urgency.

Hope, because I know that the UK’s community energy sector is brimming with potential.
Urgency, because unlocking that potential hinges on getting the right funding and support in place now.

Community energy is no longer a niche idea. It’s a proven, powerful force for good, empowering communities to take control of their energy future, create local benefits, tackle climate change and build resilience. And with the UK government’s recent commitments, including the £10 million Community Energy Fund and the Local Power Plan via Great British Energy. It looks like we’re finally seeing recognition of the sector’s value.

But recognition isn’t enough. To properly scale the impact of community energy, we need fit-for-purpose funding solutions that meet the unique needs of grassroots projects. Such as early-stage capital, patient investment, and tools that blend public, private, and community money. That’s where Ethex comes in.

I strongly believe that community energy is essential for reaching our Net Zero goals in a way that works for everyone. It brings clean, locally generated power to the people who need it most. It saves carbon, strengthens local economies, and builds trust. In a world where energy can feel divisive, complex and remote, community-led projects make our clean energy transition fair, inclusive, and hopeful.

The numbers speak for themselves. Community Energy England’s 2030 Vision outlines what’s possible:

● Over 5,000 MW of renewable power

● Energy for 2.2 million homes

● 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ saved

● Nearly £2 billion added to the economy

And the best part is this isn’t a pipe dream. It’s within reach—if we can remove the barriers.

Despite the government’s welcome initiatives and our hopes for GB Energy, the sector still faces huge challenges. At Ethex, we regularly learn about brilliant community groups with projects stalled due to a lack of development capital. They need money for feasibility studies, planning, and grid connection. These early stages are often the riskiest, yet they’re essential for getting projects off the ground.

Add to that limited capacity in local authorities, capacity and skills gaps, inconsistent policy support, and outdated regulatory frameworks, and you’ve got a perfect storm of unrealised potential.

In order to build the pipeline of community energy projects we need, we must unlock blended finance models. That means combining individual investments through community shares and bonds with government-backed risk capital and institutional investment. It also means doing all we can to raise awareness among people across the UK that they can be part of the solution by investing directly in projects that offer positive social and environmental returns.

And the appetite for investing in community energy projects is strong. Community Energy England shared the statistic that, since 2017, community energy organisations have raised £84.3 million in total to support local, clean-energy projects. In 2023 alone, more than £4.5 million of this was secured through community-share offers.

And it’s growing: In 2017, community energy organisations secured £66.5 million in investment. By 2023, that figure had risen to £240 million. Just imagine the possibilities for the sector if we continue to grow interest in investment in home-grown energy and match it with institutional finance.

At Ethex, our mission is to make money a force for good. We provide an online platform that connects impactful community energy projects with everyday investors who want their money to do more than just make a profit.

To date, we’ve helped raise over £130 million for clean energy, affordable housing, and other community-led initiatives. We’ve supported 80+ community energy projects to raise the capital they need—often from the people who live closest to their projects.

We also work hard to increase awareness of community investment and ethical finance models, helping investors understand how their money can create meaningful, measurable change.

Looking ahead, we’re focused on:

● Supporting more community projects with development funding through our platform

● Working with groups advocating for policy that enables local energy markets and supply

● Collaborating with partners and institutional funders to make community energy investment more attractive for all

● Working with community energy and government bodies to push for systemic change

It’s clear to me that we’re at a tipping point. There’s a lot of ambition, potential government support, and a growing network of innovators and changemakers ready to transform our energy system from the ground up.

But ambition without action won’t cut it. We need to urgently supercharge funding, improve regulation, and focus on unlocking community potential.

Community-owned energy offers us an opportunity not just to meet our climate targets, but to do so in a way that empowers local people, rebuilds trust, and leaves no one behind. I think that’s a future worth investing in.