The partnership aims to help local communities build their own clean energy infrastructure, or buy stakes in larger regional renewable projects.
UK-based social impact investor Better Society Capital (BSC) has launched a joint venture with Thrive Renewables to mobilise £40m (€48m) for community-owned wind and solar projects across the UK.
The partnership, called Community Energy Catalyst, will make investments of between £500,000 and £30m in onshore and offshore wind, photovoltaic and hydro-electric late-stage development projects that have already secured planning consent and are at least one megawatt in size.
Thrive, a UK-based renewable energy investment company, will invest £20m through Fair Play Clean Energy, its joint venture with Top Cashback Sustainability. BCS will provide matched funding.
Since its foundation in 2012, BSC has directed more than £10bn into social enterprises that tackle issues including homelessness, mental health, the transition to net zero and fuel poverty.
“Low-income and vulnerable communities are disproportionally exposed to climate change and to the impacts of transitioning to a net-zero economy. Investing in community energy is a great fit because it focuses on supporting communities to take ownership and drive the change needed to achieve net zero rapidly and in a way that works for society,” Joe Shamash, investment director at BSC, told Impact Investor.
Fuel poverty
Around 3.2 million UK households are believed to be in fuel poverty, meaning they aren’t able to pay for their energy bills, according to the country’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Community energy initiatives may be able to help alleviate this problem, according to Shamash. “Community energy groups can help get more clean energy online, and when they own wind and solar farms they can then use the revenues generated to address their local priorities, including tackling fuel poverty through local energy saving measures and grants,” she said.
England’s biggest wind turbine
As reported by Impact Investor last year, the UK’s community energy sector consists of almost 600 mostly small-scale organisations, whose solutions range from facilitating small-scale solar and wind installations and low carbon transport to advice on energy efficiency.
Community organisations generated a cumulative 398 megawatts of renewable energy in 2023, which contributed close to £13m to local economies, according to data by Community Energy England.
“The partnership addresses a critical gap in the UK’s renewable energy landscape, empowering local communities to take ownership of their energy future while delivering substantial economic and social outcomes,” said Matthew Clayton, managing director of Thrive Renewables.
Thrive Renewables was set up in 1994 as the Wind Fund by Dutch sustainable lender Triodos Bank, when less than 2% of the UK’s electricity was generated by renewables. It became independent of Triodos in 2016, and rebranded itself Thrive Renewables.
The company currently has £129m in assets under management while its portfolio consists of 24 projects. In 2022, Thrive provided a £4m loan to a community energy group to help build England’s biggest wind turbine in its home town of Bristol.
“We are thrilled to work with Thrive because they have an excellent track record in UK renewable investment, and they have the right technical expertise to work alongside community groups and commercial developers,” Shamash said.
