The Energy Learning Network

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The Network

Our Goals

Why community energy

Support

Events

Resources

The Energy Learning Network is powering forward community energy projects across the UK – helping more groups launch or grow schemes that decarbonise the grid, create resilience, reduce energy bills, and create meaningful benefits for local people.

The network will share learning and support collaboration between communities acting on energy, as well as between the organisations that support them across the UK. We will also bring free insights, resources and connections to existing community energy groups, as well as to communities looking to become involved in local energy projects for the first time. It will create mentoring and peer learning opportunities too.

The Network

The network is a collaboration between climate solutions charity Ashden, the Centre for Sustainable Energy , and leading community energy bodies in every UK nation: Community Energy England, Community Energy Scotland, Community Energy Wales and Northern Ireland’s Action Renewables.

Visit the website of your local community energy membership organisation for more resources to help you on your community energy journey. Centre for Sustainable Energy also have a raft of resources and guidance which will help you wherever you are based in the UK.

"Community engagement and consent is essential to achieving the UK’s clean energy goals. Within five years, onshore wind is set to double, and solar to triple - backed by strong public support. Yet progress stalls when communities are excluded, benefits unfairly distributed, and vocal opposition dominates. For 25 years, Ashden has championed community-led energy solutions that empower people and drive local prosperity."

Community Energy Scotland is excited to be part of the Energy Learning Network, working to empower community energy groups with the tools, resources, and networks they need to succeed. Our mission is to expand and diversify our membership by supporting new and emerging groups in developing impactful community energy projects. We are committed to building a thriving community energy sector, unlocking its many benefits for communities across Scotland.

"We are really excited to be part of the partnership delivering this network. Community energy is something CSE has been supporting for a long time and is critical for our transition to a green, smart and fair energy system. By partnering with the other ELN partners, we hope to take our support out to new areas of the community energy sector across the UK."

“We are looking forward to working with our partners across the UK to help strengthen the community energy sector, giving people more control over their energy resources to make a difference locally. At Community Energy Wales our mission is to build a community-led energy system and through the ELN we will be sharing resources to empower and support the creation of new community energy groups where people will feel the direct benefits of local projects."

Our Goals

Energy Learning Network members are driving rapid progress on community energy in every UK nation.

By sparking collaboration and knowledge sharing, the network empowers them to make their activities even more impactful and inclusive.

Increase the scale and impact of community energy through collaboration.

We are bringing together organisations around the UK working in and supporting community energy, to share insights and best practice from a broad range of successful initiatives. This includes highlighting how projects can best meet local needs and deliver local value.

Make community energy resources more accessible.

We are creating new reports and guides, and promoting existing materials, that help communities take their project from initial idea to delivery. This work will include making sure communities have clear ‘roadmaps’ to develop projects that meet local needs.

Spark action in more communities, and make existing projects more inclusive.

The network’s support helps diverse communities across the UK understand how local energy can create benefits for them, and encourages them to get involved for the first time. And we’re helping existing community groups broaden their reach and work in a more inclusive way. With these approaches, the network helps marginalised and disadvantaged communities benefit from the clean energy transition.

Secure more funding and create better delivery conditions for the community energy sector.

We will assist partner organisations to grow their capacity to support the sector, and boost their impact and efficiency through collaboration and common approaches. We will identify opportunities to bring new finance into the sector, and to shape the conditions that help schemes thrive and deliver maximum local value.

We will bring together leading capacity building organisations to address common barriers and gaps in support in order to facilitate an investible and sustainable pipeline of community energy projects.

By also ensuring that skills and knowledge are grown and kept within the local area, we will help to build a more sustainable business model for community organisations.

Why charge up community energy?

Community energy is about people and communities taking democratic control over their energy future; generating, owning, using and saving energy in their communities, as well as working together across regions and nations. Projects give people the chance to work with their neighbours to lower bills and reduce energy demand too.

The UK Government has set out its ambition to become a clean energy superpower, with 95% of its electricity generation coming from renewable and nuclear power by 2030.

It also aims to achieve this in a way that gives local people a stake in the transition to net zero, and ensures UK taxpayers, bill payers and communities benefit.

A strong community energy sector can play a huge part in achieving these goals: by delivering locally owned, democratically run energy projects that bring positive change to their local area. Benefits like new work and training opportunities, or action on fuel poverty.

Schemes in the UK already generate 617 GWh of clean energy – enough to power more than 220,000 homes – and have supported householders to make annual savings of nearly £4.5million.

Community energy generates localised and long-term benefits, creating a fairer society and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth. The community energy sector can also play a crucial role in building public support and acceptance for the rapid changes needed to meet the UK’s 2030 energy target.

Support

The ELN also offers practical support to help community groups develop their energy projects. This includes free peer mentoring and a technical helpline, alongside wider work to build sector knowledge, partnerships and peer learning across the UK.

Peer Mentoring

ELN mentoring connects you with an experienced practitioner who provides up to three days of tailored one‑to‑one support. Mentors act as a sounding board and critical friend, helping you navigate challenges in areas such as governance, project development, fundraising, community engagement and technical or regulatory issues. Feedback from mentees is extremely positive: over 80% rated their mentoring “Excellent,” 91% felt more confident delivering projects, and 100% felt more confident taking their next step.

Technical Helpline

The ELN Technical Helpline, delivered by Community Energy Scotland, offers quick, specialist support for specific technical questions. The team can advise on renewable technologies, energy efficiency, monitoring and data, bills and tariffs, feasibility and carbon assessments, grid connections, transport infrastructure and more. Support is designed for focused queries and is available at any project stage – from early ideas to established systems. Submit your query through the helpline form; the technical team may follow up for more information or to arrange a call.

Events

The Energy Learning Network delivers UK-wide and country-specific online events to share learning and best practice.

Events primarily support community energy organisations to learn from each other and outside experts who can help them develop their projects. Less frequently, we host events for other key stakeholders – such as local authorities.

By signing up to one of our Energy Learning Network events you are agreeing to our privacy policy. You can view the Energy Learning Network’s privacy policy here. We use your data to stay in touch with you about Energy Learning Network events and activities, and to evaluate the services we provide. We never give your data to third parties.

Upcoming events

29 April 1.00pm to 2.00 pm

Widening Participation in Community Energy: a new toolkit

Join us for the launch of the Widening Participation in Community Energy toolkit, created through the Energy Learning Network project.

This webinar will feature:

Key learnings from the widening participation work on areas including youth engagement, inclusive share offers, accessible recruitment.
Using the toolkit in your work.
Guest speakers from Grand Union Community Energy and others to be announced.

Who is this webinar for?

Anyone who is involved in the community energy sector is very welcome to join the webinar.

About this project
The Energy Learning Network (ELN) is a UK-wide project aiming to increase the scale and impact of community energy. It is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Through ELN, the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) worked with six community energy groups to explore widening participation in the sector. This toolkit brings together the learnings from this work.

What if I'm interested but can't come?

We'll record the webinar and share the slides afterwards with everyone signed up, so please register for a free spot to receive those.

Past events

10 March 1.00pm to 2.15pm

The Local Power Plan - What does it mean for Community Energy?

The long‑awaited UK Government Local Power Plan has now been published, committing £1 billion over this Parliament to local and community energy. Its ambition is to give every community the opportunity, capability, and support to take control of its energy future and share directly in the benefits. But what does this mean in practice for community energy organisations, and for those working to enable local, low‑carbon energy projects? Join us for a free, lunchtime online event to discuss the Local Power Plan and its implications for the sector. Join the discussion, ask your questions and hear from: Great British Energy Local Power Plan Head of Local Power Strategy, Fraser Stewart Ashden Policy Lead, Will Walker Community Energy Scotland CEO, Zoe Holliday And policy leads and representatives from energy bodies in each UK nations: Community Energy England Head of Capacity Building, John Taylor Community Energy Scotland Policy Manager, Liz Murray Community Energy Wales Energy Learning Network Co-ordinator, Lydia Godden Action Renewables NI Community Energy Project Manager, Jack Stewart The event is hosted by The Energy Learning Network, a collaboration between climate solutions charity Ashden, the Centre for Sustainable Energy, and leading community energy bodies in every UK nation: Community Energy England, Community Energy Scotland, Community Energy Wales, and Northern Ireland’s Action Renewables. The event is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

26 February 1:00pm to 2.00pm

Understanding Public Procurement for Community Energy: Social Value and Community Wealth Building

Join us for a webinar focused on helping community energy organisations understand public sector procurement. It will explore how effective procurement can recognise social value and ensure strong local delivery partnerships between local authorities and community energy enterprises.

This webinar will share insights into: - Procurement best practices for community energy organisations (and small businesses) and why it is important to get procurement right from day one. We’ll be hearing from Jim Owen, the Procurement Manager for Energy Systems Catapult.

Different types of procurement, i.e. direct award, competitive tenders, frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems.
How to demonstrate the social impact of community energy initiatives within procurement.
Approaches to collaborating with local suppliers, local authorities, anchor organisations and community energy organisations.
Examples demonstrating procurement that results in community wealth building, delivering local economic, social and environmental benefits.

Who's this for?

Whether you’re involved in community energy delivery, policy, local authorities, local net zero planning or supply chains, this session will help you understand how procurement processes can enable community energy partnerships to build community wealth.

Seeing is Believing and Energy Systems Catapult: This session is a collaboration between the Seeing is Believing project and Energy Systems Catapult. Seeing is Believing is a North East and Yorkshire programme, delivered by Community Energy England, Ashden and the Centre for Sustainable Energy, and funded by the North East & Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. Energy Systems Catapult is an independent UK research and technology organisation that accelerates innovation across the whole energy system by helping companies, governments, and other partners develop, test and scale clean energy solutions.

21 January from 2:30pm to 4pm

Planning community energy activity, and the wider community plans framework

Objectives

Local authority participants understand:

How can community organisations enable retrofit by residents that are not eligible for government grants
How to support community groups to build retrofit services

Event description

Reducing home energy use helps tackle fuel poverty and cuts carbon emissions. Councils have a major role to play in delivering home energy efficiency programmes but have limited resources to do so. There is a real opportunity to work more closely with communities to encourage and support residents to upgrade their homes.

This event, delivered by the Energy Learning Network, is the third in our series designed for councils. It focuses on how community energy organisations can support and encourage home retrofit among residents who aren’t eligible for government grants.

We’ll hear from several community-led initiatives from across England and Wales, including those working in close partnership with their councils.

Speakers include:

Justin Bear, Project Manager at Plymouth Energy Community, on their Future Fit retrofit advice service.

Emily Green, Oxford City Council, and Dale Hoyland, Oxfordshire County Council on working with community groups to support retrofit.

Dewi Williams, Cartrefi Clyd, on the retrofit service they offer across Wales

Rob Hargraves, Energy Systems Catapult and Anthony Dean, York City Council on YorEnergy, the York Retrofit One-Stop-Shop

This event is part of a series of three workshops for councils across the UK to build capacity in working with community energy groups on home energy demand reduction projects.

Resources

Discover useful resources created with Energy Learning Network funding.

Energy Learning Network mentoring handbook

A guide to being an ELN mentor.

The case for community energy

Understanding the added value of a community energy approach and why support for community energy is vital for the success of the UK’s transition to net zero.

Community Energy in Action: Demonstrating the value of community-led solutions to net zero

The energy transition is not just about infrastructure and technology – it is about people, fairness, and building a future where everyone benefits. Community energy is one of the most effective ways to ensure that decarbonisation strengthens communities rather than leaving them behind.

A guide to evidencing the impact of community energy

Community energy organisations play a vital role in shaping a more sustainable, fair,and locally driven energy future. But how can you effectively demonstrate the realdifference your work makes?

The Value of Community Energy: a digest of supporting evidence for the Energy Learning Network

This document, produced by Saskya Huggins on behalf of the Energy Learning Network, it supports our full report on the social, economic and environmental value of a community energy approach.

South West Net Zero Hub Community Energy film

A South West Net Zero Hub video explaining the benefits of getting involved in Community Energy projects and encouraging applications to the Great British Energy Community Fund.

Partnering to secure funding

Discover how Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) and Grand Union Community Energy (GUCE) have developed a partnership approach to delivering local climate action that makes best use of each organisation’s strengths, demonstrating an effective model for similar collaborations across the UK.

Running a Community Energy Fund

This case study looks at the London Borough of Southwark's £400k community energy fund.

Our series of recorded webinars

Intro to Community Action on Energy
Hosted by Centre for Sustainable Energy

Heat Networks
Hosted by Ashden

Social value
Hosted by Ashden

State of the Sector report
Hosted by Ashden

Community Domestic Retrofitting
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Community Carbon Auditing Webinar
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Community Shared Ownership
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Governance
Hosted by Ashden

Long term finance and new energy generation viability
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Attract investors and funders to your £150k+ community energy project
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Raising finance with investors looking for values-driven community projects
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Community benefit funds: opportunities and challenges
Hosted by Community Energy Scotland

Community Energy Connect Showcase
Hosted by Community Energy England

Making your community building more energy efficient
Hosted by Centre for Sustainable Energy

Making a business case for community energy projects – solar and wind
Hosted by Ashden

Muslim Communities and Community Energy
Hosted by CSE

Delivering energy advice in the community
Hosted by CSE

Creating Community Sustainability Hubs
Hosted by CSE

Maximising income from your community energy project (with Younity)
Hosted by CEE

The next phase of community energy: Supermarkets and warehouses (with Ethex)
Hosted by CEE

Resources for community energy

A comprehensive list of community energy guidance split into topics including project management, project finance, grid connection, technology, stakeholder engagement, community buildings and shared ownership.

Further resources can be found on our partner websites:

Action Renewables

Community Energy England

Community Energy Scotland

Community Energy Wales | Resources

Community Energy Wales | Adnoddau

Centre for Sustainable Energy

A Climate Action Fund project

It’s made possible by four years of funding, totaling £1.5 million, from the National Lottery Community Fund.

This grant comes from the Climate Action Fund, a £100 million commitment over 10 years from The National Lottery Community Fund to support communities across the UK to take action on climate change and involve more people in climate action. This forms part of one of the funder’s four key missions in its 2030 strategy, ‘It starts with community’ – supporting communities to be environmentally sustainable.   