Climate change is often presented as a problem so vast that individual action can feel almost symbolic. We recycle a little more, fly a little less and switch to renewable tariffs, while the biggest decisions seem to happen somewhere beyond our reach.
Community energy offers a different perspective. It asks a deceptively simple question: what if local people didn’t just use clean energy, but owned it?
Ten years ago, a group of residents in Frome set out to answer that question. In 2015, they formed Frome Renewable Energy Community (FRECo) and, within just four days, raised £280,000 through a community share offer. The following year, community-owned solar arrays on Frome Medical Practice and Frome Town Football Club began generating clean electricity.
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Support independent eco journalism that drives real change.Since then, those two installations have generated more than 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean electricity. That’s enough energy to power around 164,000 homes for an entire day, with every light, appliance and screen running at once.
Yet the most important thing those solar panels have produced isn’t electricity.
It’s proof.
Proof that communities can come together, raise investment locally and create renewable energy projects that deliver lasting environmental, social and economic benefits.
At the time, the projects were made possible through the UK’s Feed-in Tariff scheme, which provided a guaranteed income for renewable electricity generation. That stable policy environment meant community investors could earn a modest financial return while helping finance the transition to clean energy.
Today, the landscape looks very different.
The Feed-in Tariff has ended, and developing new community energy projects has become considerably more challenging. Success increasingly depends on finding a large local organisation, known as an offtaker, that can use a significant proportion of the electricity generated. By purchasing locally generated electricity at a discounted price through a long-term agreement, the offtaker benefits from lower energy costs while providing the reliable income needed to make community ownership financially viable.
Across the UK, hundreds of community energy organisations are finding new ways to develop renewable energy while keeping the benefits local. Income generated by these projects doesn’t disappear into distant shareholders. It can support community organisations, tackle fuel poverty, improve public buildings and strengthen local resilience.
FRECo has followed that path. Surplus income from its generation projects has helped fund emergency energy vouchers for households struggling with energy costs, supported solar panels at the YMCA, and contributed to the Healthy Homes project, helping residents live in warmer, healthier homes. More recently, FRECo has joined Community Energy England, connecting with a growing network of organisations that share knowledge, develop new ideas and strengthen the community energy movement across the country.
As Britain works towards a low-carbon future, we need more renewable generation. But perhaps we also need a broader conversation about ownership.
Who benefits from the energy transition? Where do the financial returns flow? How can local people play a meaningful role, not just as consumers, but as participants?
These are questions worth asking.
This summer marks ten years since FRECo’s first solar projects began generating electricity, and the organisation is inviting the community to celebrate.
On Monday 20 July, FRECo will host a free Summer Celebration at the Bandstand in Victoria Park, Frome. The afternoon will bring together investors, volunteers, local partners and residents to celebrate what community ownership has achieved over the past decade. Guests will hear from organisations supported through the FRECo Community Fund and learn how local renewable energy has helped deliver wider benefits across the town. Reserve your free space by clicking here.
It is also an invitation to become part of the next chapter.
Like many community organisations, FRECo relies on local people contributing their skills and experience. The organisation is currently looking for new volunteer directors, particularly those with experience in finance, accounting, investment or communications, although anyone who believes in the potential of community-owned renewable energy is encouraged to get involved. Learn more on www.freco.org and e-mail us on hello@freco.org
Perhaps the greatest lesson from the past decade is that community energy doesn’t begin with solar panels.
It begins when people decide that the future is something they can build together.
