The people behind Croydon Community Energy, the innovative new company which wants to install solar panels across some of the borough’s public buildings, saving you money while helping to save the planet, are celebrating today after hitting their initial target in a share offer, with more than 30 days still to go on the share offer.
Hitting targets: there’s more than 30 more days of fund-raising to go for CCE
The £120,000 raised means that Croydon Community Energy now has sufficient funding to install panels on three sites, a little more than a month since the launch of the share scheme which offers up to 5% return on investments, while leaving any surplus to provide community gardens and alleviate fuel poverty.
“Across the country, community energy initiatives are transforming local economies while advocating for sustainable development,” Connie Duxbury, CCE’s chief exec, told Inside Croydon.
The community solar share offer, she says, “has proven to be a sustainable financial strategy that not only lowers energy bills but also drives local development”, while also providing social welfare benefits.
“Croydon Community Energy is spearheading a transformative approach within Croydon through its first community share offer, which has just hit its minimum investment target of £120,000,” Duxbury said.
The share offer remains open, with the capital raised to be used for further installations, as sites present themselves and funding allows.
“Residents who invest in renewable projects become stakeholders, ensuring that profits are reinvested into the community’s welfare,” Duxbury said.
When one of CCE’s solar installations generates surplus electricity, the additional revenue can help reduce energy costs or be used to fund community projects, “turning every ray of sunlight into a tangible benefit for the neighbourhood”.
This is no overnight success story, though. Duxbury and a group of local residents have been working to reach this stage for almost four years. A £5,000 grant from the London Community Energy Fund in January 2022 was used for feasibility studies. In April 2022, they obtained £20,000 from the School for Social Entrepreneurs’ Changemakers programme to fund organisational growth.
Money savers: Archbishop Tenison’s School is one of the sites that could soon be saving money and saving the planet
The following months saw CCE training volunteers as energy advisers, conducting free public energy advice sessions and launching the Sharing Spaces project, which engaging more than 200 residents in “climate-focused activities”.
In April 2024, CCE secured £40,000 from the government’s Community Energy Fund to initiate solar projects. By September 2024, they had obtained Letters of Authority from three potential sites for detailed feasibility studies – at Archbishop Tenison’s School, Holy Innocents Church and the Shree Swarminarayan Temple.
Their efforts were recognised in November 2024 when they were shortlisted for the Community Energy England “Progress in Expansion” award. The share offer was launched in February, to fund the installation of 711 solar panels across three community buildings, offering locals a chance of share ownership with amounts starting at £50.
The people behind the project reckon that when it is up and working, they will lower Croydon’s carbon footprint by as much as 69.2 metric tonnes of CO₂ annually — the equivalent to planting 1,153 trees.
The community share offer has also been offered £60,000 in equity match investment from Co-operatives UK’s Community Shares Booster Fund. This means that for every pound the community invests up to £60,000, CCE will have another pound in investment from the fund.
CCE CEO: Connie Duxbury
“The Booster Fund’s buy-in and confidence in the share offer also demonstrates we are a credible community venture that is worth investing in,” Duxbury said today. The equity match investment follows a £5,000 development grant that they were also awarded from the Booster Fund to support them in preparing for the share offer.
“These initiatives can translate into considerable savings: lower energy bills mean that the sites keep more money in their pockets, while the revenues generated from excess energy sales create a steady income stream for reinvestment,” Duxbury said.
“This dual impact – environmental and financial benefits – highlights the importance of local participation in building a sustainable future.”
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Read more: ‘It’s now or never’ for Croydon to start its Green New Deal
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