“We only take 1/5000th part of the energy that the sun sprays on the earth every day. 1/5000th part would provide all the energy requirements of humanity. And the fact that we haven’t tapped it directly before is really extraordinary.”
This summer solstice, we want to celebrate this power of the sun, and the clean, renewable energy it can give us. Communities across the UK are stepping up to David Attenborough’s plea for more solar, by working together to create new ways of powering our villages, towns and cities.
And it’s already happening. As the days get longer, solar eclipsed coal as a power source with solar generating 50% more electricity than coal across the month of May.
On this longest day of 2016, we want to shout out about the community energy sector (especially solar of course), on social media. We would like as many of us as possible to share photos of solar panels and why they love solar with the hashtag #SolsticeSolar. Community energy initiatives across the UK will be getting involved, including our partners Mongoose Energy and Bristol City Council to share their exciting solar projects and what they’re achieving for investors and the community.
Look out for photos from our solar projects including our operational solar farm in Puriton, Somerset, our new solar farm in Lawrence Weston which will be completed in this month, and solar panels on community roofs across Bristol.
We’re crowdfunding right now to bring even more solar to Bristol and beyond. Thanks to our growing community, we’ve raised over £9 million – a significant amount which is already helping to generate clean energy. But we need your help to reach our target. Investing in community solar is a win-win-win:
– surplus profits are given back to the community (£4 million community fund over 25 years)
– individual investors get a return on their investment
– reduced carbon emissions tackle the impact of climate change
How to get involved
1. Take a pic of a solar panel
or
Take a solar selfie and share why you love solar
2. Share it on Twitter and Facebook with #SolsticeSolar
3. Find out more about how you can get involved in community energy:
– invest in our bond offer (hurry, closes on 30 June!)
– invest in our share offer (with only £50)
– book your free place at our next Transition Lab event.
Let’s get #SolsticeSolar trending and shout out about clean energy!
