By Triodos Bank UK and Thrive Renewables
At a time when the climate emergency demands urgent action, community energy offers a powerful, people-led solution. It’s about more than just generating clean electricity – it’s about empowering local communities, creating fairer systems, and ensuring the benefits of a cleaner, greener energy system are shared by all.
That’s why Triodos Bank and Thrive Renewables have been proud and active supporters of the UK’s community energy movement for decades. Together, we believe in the power of co-ownership, collaboration, and long-term thinking to build a cleaner, fairer energy future.
A shared vision for impact
Triodos Bank has been financing community-owned renewable energy projects in the UK for nearly 30 years. From wind and solar to hydro and storage, we’ve supported projects that not only reduce carbon emissions but also generate income for local initiatives and tackle fuel poverty. In fact, community energy makes up around 40% of our energy and project finance portfolio.
We don’t just lend – we partner. Our relationship managers work closely with community groups to find the right financial solutions, whether that’s through senior debt, construction finance, or raising capital via our own crowdfunding platform. We’re one of the few UK lenders able to support smaller-scale projects, and we see impact as more than just carbon savings. We look for projects that deliver benefits across biodiversity, social cohesion, food, and land use.
Thrive shares this commitment. For 30 years, Thrive has been connecting people with clean energy projects across the UK. From England’s largest community-owned wind turbine to the UK’s first geothermal electricity project in Cornwall, Thrive funds, builds, and operates projects that put people and planet first.
Growing community energy at scale
With 30 years’ experience putting people at the heart of its projects, Thrive’s very first wind farm – Haverigg in Cumbria – was part owned by a local community energy group, Baywind Energy Co-operative. Since then, Thrive has invested over £21 million into six community-owned wind and solar projects across the UK.
Thrive’s commitment to getting new community owned capacity built has most recently manifested in a £40 million partnership with Better Society Capital. The joint venture, Community Energy Catalyst (CEC), offers flexible funding to community energy groups looking to take their place in the transition to a cleaner, fairer system. Whether it’s a community group looking to build and operate their own site or share ownership in a larger project, CEC can tailor its funding to best meets the individual needs of the project.
Looking ahead
We know there’s still much to do. The climate crisis is accelerating, and many of the world’s leaders aren’t acting fast enough. But we also know that community energy works – and that when people come together with a shared purpose, they can drive real change.
At Triodos Bank and Thrive Renewables, we’re committed to continuing this work. We’ll keep supporting community groups with the finance, tools, and expertise they need to succeed. We’ll keep innovating to make investment more accessible. And we’ll keep championing a vision of energy that’s clean, fair, and owned by the people it serves.