Surrey Community Energy | Home

Energy For Surrey

Surrey Community Energy (SCE) is a Community Benefit Society run by volunteers to develop, own and manage clean energy installations. Our goal is to increase energy independence for the county through the installation of renewable energy projects, providing lower cost power, creating jobs in innovative new areas, and contributing toward Surrey's climate change targets.

How Does Community

Energy Work?

Community energy schemes are a great way for local residents, communities, businesses and / or local authorities to collaborate for the benefit of the area. Working together, we identify sites that are suitable for clean energy generation - primarily solar to begin with.

Once a site has been identified, and deemed feasible, we will try to agree a provisional lease for the site with the owner or landlord. Then we will raise a share offer, which you and other residents can invest in, and you will receive an annual return.

Once we raise enough capital to purchase the equipment the installation begins, typically on an agreed lease of 15 - 20 years, though the period depends on the size of the installation and the demand. We will manage, operate and insure the installation over this period.

The energy user will purchase the bulk of the electricity produced on site from us at an agreed cost typically lower than the grid cost, and any excess energy is exported.

As an investor, you receive an annual return on your investment - meaning everybody wins!

Invest with SCE

Why Invest In Community Energy?

Organisations focused on energy efficiency support - such as the Home Energy Advice Team in Surrey - provide a fantastic service to residents, helping residents to cut energy bills, keep their homes cosy and free of damp and mould (in turn reducing pressure on local health services), and reduce carbon emissions from our homes.

SCE on the other hand, is focused on energy generation, which adds another array of benefits to Surrey's communities and businesses. Community Energy England have produced a short paper on the importance and benefits of community energy

Create energy security and resilience for Surrey
Help charities, community groups and frontline services lower overheads
Provide predictable costs for businesses at lower-than-grid rate
Genuinely sustainable portfolio option with stable returns for investors
Reduce carbon emissions from commercial buildings and industry, which account for about 26% of Surrey emissions
Increase resource efficiency with unused rooftops creating electricity for local use and reducing transmission loss
Boost the local economy with job creation, upskilling, and installation opportunities

Why invest?

Surrey Community Energy is a brand new venture - but support for community energy schemes is so popular we already have 4 potential projects in the pipeline!

There are around 500 community energy companies in the UK, so Surrey is behind the curve on generation - but we aim to change that! Over the coming months and years we will provide opportunities to invest in projects which provide an annual return. Our pipeline includes:

Care Home

67kW

potential

Leisure Centre

145kW

potential

Shared ownership Solar Farm

25MW

potential

College

58kW +

potential

Projects

To tell us you'd like to invest, volunteer, or sign up for updates please complete the form....

Don't just take our word for it though! Every year, Community Energy England publishes its 'State of The Sector report, and every year the impressive statistics just keep growing!

You can see the support for community energy schemes by looking at the amount of power created, investment secured or put back into local economies, and the number of new jobs created by community energy. In 2023 alone State of The Sector reported...

Volunteer

Get Involved with Community Energy In Surrey

There are 3 ways you can make a huge difference to energy security in Surrey:

1. Invest in one of our projects - and get a guaranteed annual return

2. Help to identify sites for projects - submit a site using this form

3. Invest your time with us! We'd love to have you, whether you are an expert in a particular field or looking for experience to support a move into the energy sector, you'll find a home with SCE!

If you'd like to help in any way, get in touch with us today.

About Us

Surrey Community Energy is made up of Surrey residents who are enthusiastic about local energy generation. We've got a range of different skillsets, and we're always looking for more people to get involved - don't worry if you don't have any experience, we can teach you what you need to know, whether you're motivated by a career change, tackling climate change, or supporting your local economy with cheaper, cleaner energy!

Directors

About Us

Akshat Gupta

Andrew Broadbent

Ben McCallan

Akshat has 15 years of energy industry experience, and has been involved in creating generation investment cases worth millions of pounds, and launching new innovative business models for both consumers and businesses, in low carbon technologies. His goal is to make renewable technology affordable, accessible, consumer friendly whilst saving money and carbon.

Cat Reeby

Andrew was Head of Sustainability and Energy for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust for 10 years prior to retirement in October 2022, and had wide ranging experience in energy strategy, planning and prioritisation as well as project delivery. He's also qualified in PRINCE 2 project management, and currently volunteers with Oxshott Net Zero.

David Griffiths

Ben is one of the residents who founded Zero Carbon Guildford, and currently works as Engagement Lead across Surrey County Council's 'Greener Future' strategic priority. Working to create collaborative community-council initiatives in the last few years he set up the Home Energy Advice Taskforce, as well as SCC's warm hub programme and Surrey Energy Advice tool

Janice Bennett

Cat is an engineer with circa 25 years' experience in the energy sector and was previously the Head of the Community Partnerships team at the Energy Saving Trust. She Chairs Surrey Energy Partnership and is a Director of the Surrey Climate Commission, currently managing the HEAT+ service to support residents with energy grants

Lisa Scott

David, usually shortened to Dai, was Partner in a law firm for a long stretch of his career, before setting up his own company to design and code electronic control systems. In his spare time he's a Trustee of The Cancer Prevention & Education Society, and he volunteers as a HEAT Energy Champion

Maddie Evans

Janice has been involved in environmental protection since her teens, working for both CPRE and the RSPB. She moved into management of a grant giving charity in Guildford, and since retiring in 2017 has become Treasurer and Membership Secretary of Guildford Environmental Forum.

Oleksandr Andreiuk

Lisa has 20 years of project management experience in the highly regulated clinical research industry, and is motivated by the transition to fair and affordable energy through community ownership. She's led by example in retrofitting and electrifying her own home and works to support others to making changes, particularly through her work as a parish councillor,

Maddie is a Trustee of the charity Zero Carbon Guildford. She's a chemical engineer by training, with a 2022 MSc in Climate Change, Environmental Science and Policy (KCL). She is an early adopter of PV, heat pump and EV cars, and in her work with Shalford council is working on putting PV on the village hall.

Oleksandr has recently moved to Surrey from the Ukraine, graduating Odessa Polytechnic University and embarking on an engineering career. Since 2003, he's been focused on residential energy efficiency, with a particular interest in thermal imaging technology and air tightness, and his work in Ukraine was recognised by Germany's Passive Housing Institute.

Advisory Members

Nicola Davidson

Simon Pritchard

Ollie Pendered

Nicola is a Project Manager at Community Energy South which is supporting Surrey Community Energy to grow. She has volunteered on the board of MaidEnergy CBS for 10 yrs, and previously worked in a technical role at the EA. Nicola has a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and a degree in Rural Resource Management

Simon has direct experience in commercial solar installation, having progressed from hands-on electrician to growth-oriented business owner. Starting as a qualified electrician and building experience, Simon has evolved into a seasoned solar and battery storage expert, and has been installing both residential and commercial solar & battery installations since 2009.

Ollie is Chief Executive of Community Energy South, a social enterprise enabling local people & places to scale up the community energy sector. Ollie is part of the Advanced Practitioner Forum and the government's Community Energy Contact Group helping make recommendations to support the sector, which is currently a focus of GB Energy.