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Schools save close to £1 million on their energy bills thanks to community-owned solar

14th May 2025, Natasha Hoare

Students and staff in Scunthorpe in front of a solar generation board, part of an installation by North Lincolnshire Community Energy

Schools across the UK saved an estimated £928,000 last year on their energy bills, thanks to six co-ops in the Energy4All family: The Schools' Energy Co-op, Wey Valley Solar Schools Co-op, North Lincolnshire Community Energy, Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op, Energise South and REPOWER Balcombe. At a time when schools are being hit with high energy costs and stretching their resources, this money could cover the annual salaries for 28 qualified teachers.

How do the schools save money?

Schools that partner with these community energy societies have solar PV panels installed on their rooftop free of charge. The energy society is responsible for all maintenance and management of the panels. The school uses the clean electricity produced, and they pay the energy society a fixed price for it. They aren't subject to fluctuating energy prices and tend to pay much less than market rate, which is how they save so much on their energy bills. This money can then be spent on whatever the school chooses - classrooms, field trips, textbooks, or towards a teachers salary.

Not only that, but some of the community energy societies pay their member schools dividends every year too (a distribution of any surplus money made).

The Schools' Energy Co-op manages more than 100 solar PV installations on schools around England. They are the biggest rooftop solar project and estimate to save their schools £500,000 annually, plus dividend payments.

Wey Valley Solar Schools are based in Surrey, with 10 school installations plus dividend payments.

North Lincolnshire Community Energy, Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op , Energise South and REPOWER Balcombe all install solar panels on a hybrid of schools and other public or private buildings in their local area.

Who pays for the panels?

Investor members from the community energy societies pay for the solar panels. Payments for the energy produced, both from the schools and from any extra exported to the grid, result in a moderate interest rate for those members - usually this is around 5%. So as well as reducing carbon in the atmosphere and helping the schools to save money, they are making a sound economic investment.

Why don't all schools have solar panels already, and why doesn't the council pay for them?

Good questions. Solar panels have high upfront costs, and most schools just don't have that money to spare in an annual budget, even if it will save money in the long term.

Local councils do sometimes put solar panels on schools as part of their own decarbonisation programmes. But again, the upfront costs can be prohibitive and there is no legal requirement to do so.

GB Energy recently announced that they will be installing solar panels on 200 schools across the UK, whilst this is welcome news, the UK has more than 30,000 schools (including nurseries) so we still have a long way to go and these installations need to be well-managed for the long term.

This is where community energy has such a valuable role to play, especially if the organisations can work in partnership with the schools and councils. North Lincolnshire Town Council are actively partnered with North Lincolnshire Community Energy which makes it easy for both parties: the council has the relevant connections to the schools and host sites, and the energy society has the fundraising ability and the expertise to make the projects happen.

Can I get involved with a community energy group?

Yes! You can contact a community energy group about volunteering with their project, or you can look out for new share offers, which are periods when they are looking for new member investors to support the project. Rooftop solar projects often work in several 'phases' over the years, adding new installations each time, and therefore they have several opportunities to join.

You can register your interest with the community energy group itself, or you can register to Energy4All's mailing list below to find out when share offers open across the UK. Energy4All supports the development and day-to-day management of renewable energy co-operatives.