We’re excited to share an update about a grant we recently received from the West of England Combined Authority. It will help us double our rooftop solar in the next 2 years. The grant from the Green Recovery Fund has allowed us to initiate our South West Local Solar Scheme (SWLSS) and through this we’re aiming to install 2 megawatts of rooftop solar capacity across Bristol and the wider West of England region by 2025.
The scheme is now in full swing with our development team working on a pipeline of projects. Nearly 50 different locations have been involved to date, with talks ongoing for rooftop installations on schools, small and medium enterprises and community buildings from South Bristol to South Gloucestershire. And there are more interested sites coming through our inbox every week.
The first installation to be developed by the scheme is the Bristol Beacon. This solar has now been fully installed and will join BEC’s portfolio in the next couple of months. At the heart of the city centre, Bristol Beacon is a shining example of BEC’s work, enabling gigs to soon be powered by the sun!
Many more exciting installations are due to follow and we’ll share updates with you as they progress. The support of the West of England Combined Authority is enabling more installations to proceed, maximising carbon savings, providing work for local installers and creating additional bill savings for local businesses, who already face significant bills at a time of high-level uncertainty in the energy market.
We’re delighted that the South West Local Solar Scheme is helping more organisations become part of the community energy family at no capital cost whilst helping BEC provide benefits to the local community.
Our pipeline of projects is wide-ranging, and there’s always space for new roofs to fit into the portfolio. So please get in touch if you own or rent a large commercial roof space you think may be suitable for a community-owned solar installation. Suitable roofs are in good condition, with a >600m2 unshaded surface area, typically south-facing, with a high level of on-site usage of electricity. If this fits the bill, please complete the solar form on our website. Our development team will then make an initial site assessment and if it has potential we’ll arrange a call to discuss things in more detail.
We have a lot of sites already engaged with the South West Local Solar Scheme but this is just the start. There’s a huge amount of untapped potential rooftop solar capacity across the West of England region. So stay tuned for more updates and take a look at our current Share Offer to see how you can become a member and help expand BEC’s incredible portfolio of renewable energy projects.
