Podcast episode: Overcoming financial challenges for co-operative energy
30th July 2025, Natasha Hoare
Energy4All Chair Mike Smyth and Non-Executive Director Mark Luntley have been sharing their expertise in how community energy projects in the UK overcome barriers to successfully generate clean energy for ordinary people.
They took part in a community energy financing podcast series by ACCE - a European collaborative project focusing on creating simple and effective financial tools for energy communities.
The series gathers community energy leaders from across Europe to share and compare what community energy looks like in their country or region, and how they devise unique solutions to make a positive contribution to our energy future.
In Mike and Mark's episode, they explore the unique characteristics of several different schemes that Energy4All support in the UK.
Solar succeeding beyond the Feed-in Tariffs
They start with Wey Valley Solar and the Schools' Energy Co-op. These co-ops initially made use of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT), a government scheme designed to promote the uptake of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation. They allowed the co-ops to offer schools an exceptionally cheap rate for their electricity in return for hosting community solar panels.
Wey Valley Solar has kept its remit within Surrey in the south of England, and the Schools' Energy Co-op has grown to more than 100 solar installations across England. They continue to develop additional sites despite the closure of the FIT scheme, using sophisticated financial modelling to choose rooftops that can host solar arrays efficient enough to generate a profit without government support, proving that rooftop solar still has a bright future in the UK.
Opportunities unlocked by co-op to co-op lending
Energy Prospects is discussed in the podcast - an innovative co-op that provides development capital to other renewable energy co-ops in their early stages. They also provide supportive loans to renewable energy co-ops, which means those co-ops can get on with development without needing to launch a new share offer each time - improving efficiency, scalability, and building horizontal relationships.
Drawing from further afield, Westmill Solar Co-op has recently completed the first ever cross-border co-operative investment through REScoop MECISE, agreeing to a 10-year re-financing loan funded by partners from the UK, France, Spain and Belgium.
The future for community energy financing in the UK
Going forward, Mike and Mark speculate about the role for Great British Energy and the government's ambition to grow the community and local energy sector to 8 GW. They consider how shared ownership projects and collaboration with local authorities may play a big role in realising these ambitions.
You can listen to the full community energy financing podcast on Spotify here, and you can find out more about the ACCE project here.