At BEC we’ve had lows as well as highs over the last 12 months, but we have exciting projects in the pipeline for 2026 and lots more to look forward to. So join us in looking back at our highlights of 2025 and raise a cheer for people power this new year.
1. MORE ROOFTOPS
We continue on our mission to build a solar-powered community-owned power station on Bristol’s rooftops. This year we built rooftop solar arrays on six more sites, including a local business, care homes and education centres.
2. PARTNERSHIPS & NEW PROJECTS
Having great relationships with our host sites bears fruit in so many ways. It’s an effective way of firing up more conversations about the power of community energy. This year we’re supporting Green Schools Project, who are helping us bring community energy into classrooms across Bristol. We’re also working on an exciting new solar farm proposal with one of our newer rooftop sites Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. We’ll be submitting our planning application very soon – watch out for ways you can help in the new year.
3. NATIONAL CONVERSATION
As the policy landscape looks hopeful for community energy, we’ve been proud to take part in national conversations to promote the sector. For example, earlier this year we helped make the case for building more people-powered projects across the country at the Parliamentary Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s inquiry into unlocking community energy at scale. It’s taking a while but we are starting to see progress – we were excited to see local power feature prominently in GB Energy’s new strategy published this month. We are also supporting the national campaign Up the Energy, which aims to spark attention in Westminster and among the general public.
We’re off for the holidays to recharge our batteries – ready for lots more positive energy in 2026.
