Across the UK, communities are stepping up to take control of their energy future. From micro solar farms to rooftop solar on community buildings community energy is helping cut carbon, reduce bills and reinvest back into the places where people live.
That’s why Neston Community Energy is proud to support the Up the Energy campaign — a national call for stronger support for community energy and the removal of barriers that are slowing local projects down.
What is the Up the Energy campaign?
Led by Community Energy England and partners across the sector, the campaign aims to unlock the full potential of community energy across the UK.
Community energy groups are already delivering real benefits — generating renewable power, reducing household bills and reinvesting income into local projects and services. But many community-led schemes are still held back by policy and regulatory barriers.
The campaign is calling on the UK Government to take practical steps to ensure communities can play a central role in the clean energy transition.
What changes are being asked for?
The campaign highlights several key changes that would help community energy grow and deliver more benefits locally:
- Ensuring funding for community energy through the Local Power Plan and Warm Homes Plan
- Guaranteeing a fair export price for electricity generated by community projects
- Prioritising community schemes in grid connection queues
- Supporting local supply models and shared ownership
- Opening up public buildings and land for community energy projects.
These changes would help communities generate more renewable energy, reduce costs and ensure the benefits stay local.
Why community energy matters
Community energy is about more than just electricity. When energy projects are locally owned, the benefits stay in the community.
Across the UK, community energy groups are already:
- Generating clean, renewable power
- Helping households cut energy bills
- Creating local jobs and skills
- Funding community projects and services
- Supporting nature recovery and climate action
It’s a model that strengthens both local resilience and the national energy system.
A key moment for community energy
The UK Government has recently committed £1 billion to community energy through the Local Power Plan, a significant step that shows growing recognition of the sector’s potential.
But funding alone isn’t enough. To unlock projects at scale, communities need fair market conditions, better grid access and long-term support.
The Up the Energy campaign brings together hundreds of organisations calling for exactly that — turning ambition into action so communities can help power the UK’s clean energy future.
How you can support the campaign
If you believe communities should be at the heart of the energy transition, there are several ways you can help:
- Learn more about the campaign
- Share it with your networks
- Encourage organisations to support the open letter
- Spread the word about the power of community energy
Together we can ensure the transition to clean energy is fair, local and community-led, because when communities generate their own power, everyone benefits.
If you would like to know more contact us here.
