News Blog
Green Energy Awards – We’ve been shortlisted!
We've been shortlisted for Regen's Green Energy Awards. The awards are a leading national celebration of pioneering innovation and sustainable development for the UK’s energy system. We're shortlisted in the Community Energy section, which recognises the role of...
Brighton & Hove Schools Encouraged to Join Energy Sparks
Relationship Nurtured Between BHCC and Energy Sparks Gains Traction The solid relationship we have nurtured between Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) and national energy education charity Energy Sparks has far reaching benefits. It has opened up this incredibe...
Brighton Energy Winter Solar News 2021
Welcome to our Winter NewsletterIn our latest update we cover our grant for small businesses going solar, our ever growing charge point network, a first from our solar education programme, the latest moves in government on supporting community energy, and the...
BEC Launches Community Solar Accelerator Grant Scheme!
WE HAVE SOME GREAT 'ZERO CARBON' NEWS TO SHARE ON THE EVE OF COP26 STARTINGBrighton Energy Co-op is pleased to announce that we have secured funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to offer grants of up to £25,000 off the cost of solar PV arrays, or...
Energy Prices Will Continue to Rocket – Here’s Why
A recent fire at the UK-France IFA Interconnector knocked out 1000MW of electricity coming into the UK With media attention focused on soaring domestic energy bills, for business consumers prices are even higher - with more to come. The full impact of recent price...
Brighton Energy Autumn Solar News
High Electricity Prices are Good News for RenewablesWith electricity prices hitting headlines, you could be forgiven a sense of crisis. But apart from the obscene spectacle of government subsidising CO2 production in the year of the COP26 conference in Glasgow,...
Brighton Energy Summer Solar News
Brighton Energy's Souped Up SummerNo lazy Summer days here at BEC - we'll be making solar while the sun shines! You may recall that a while back we secured quite a few exemptions to the end of the Feed in Tariff Scheme: well, at the end of March we polished off the...
Solar on Amberley Museum’s Connected Earth Building – Connecting to the Sun Pays Off!
BEC Solar at Amberley Museum - the equivalent of planting 1500 trees a year! Brighton Energy partners with Amberley Museum in West Sussex to provide museum with bountiful amounts of clean energy. The 200 solar panels (45kW) at Amberley save the equivalent of planting...
Brighton Energy Co-op Strategy April 2021
BEC | Three Year Strategy April 2021 1. Vision – to see a high level of renewable energy locally owned, generated and used in the Greater Brighton area and wider region. Our Mission – to promote, develop and deliver large community owned renewable energy...
GMBC’s Brighton City Airport campus goes solar March 2021
Aircraft Maintenance & Motor Engineering Campus gets 60kW - 31 March 2021 Did you know Brighton City Airport hosts Greater Brighton MET College’s aviation maintenance and motorsport engineering education centre? Well, we’ve just installed a free 60kW solar...
Earth Day Today sees more Environmental Campaigners in Jail than Ever Before
EARTH DAY celebrates its 51st birthday today. Established in 1970 as a mass 'teach-in' for environmental protection, last year 100 million people participated in Earth Day activities - the largest online mass mobilization in history. Yet 2021 sees more environmental...
Brighton Energy Raises £200k in 3 Days
Brighton Energy are on fire this month completing solar on three educational buildings and installing the first solar-connected electric vehicle (EV) charger in the South East. With so much fantastic solar news coming through the BEC pipeline we hope you’re enjoying...
Joining Brighton Energy Coop – Our Latest Share Offer is Now Full
Update 4pm 26/3/21 – We’ve had an amazing response to our fundraising – after only three days our share offer is now full. We’re preparing a whole bunch of new community-owned solar projects for 2021 – if you’re interested in joining BEC for our next round of projects...
Brighton Energy Coop Launches New Share Offer – Support New Solar in Our Community!
Brighton Energy Coop Launches New Share Offer - Support New Solar in Our Community!We're very pleased to announce that we've just kicked off our latest set of solar builds in Brighton. And of course we don't do this sort of thing without community ownership - no. So...
Brighton Energy Solar News
Brighton & Hove-Schools pull together to reach Net Zero by 2050Happy half-term to all Brighton & Hove school teachers and home-schoolers out there. We hope you are getting a well-deserved screen break and some rejuvenating outdoor Nature. You'll need that...
Brighton Energy Winter Newsletter 2021
Best Wishes To All Our Members For A Solar Filled 2021!Now we're 10 years old and have been creating Community Owned solar energy projects for over a decade, we're turning our hands to sharing our lovely green electricity with more of you! We're close to...
Brighton Energy Co-op 10 Years Old Today!
Against all the odds 2020 has been a great year for BEC!It’s our 10th birthday – yes, it’s been a decade since we sparked off Brighton’s first Community Owned renewable energy project back in 2010 – and to celebrate we completed 6 new solar energy projects, adding a...
A Day In The Life Part II – XR in London October 2019
Extinction Rebellion in London October 2019 | An image Gallery In October 2019 thousands of people took to the streets to protest the climate emergency. More fantastic images here. The struggle continues...Photo credits: Joe Taylor Daniel Burke Christaina Vysotsaya...
A Day In The Life – XR in London October 2019
Extinction Rebellion in London October 2019 | An image Gallery In October 2019 thousands of people took to the streets to protest the climate emergency. You may say they were making history - but you can only make history if you have a future to have it in. The battle...
BEC Members: £1000 donated to Extinction Rebellion Brighton & New Solar Builds Continue Apace!
Hi folks, Welcome to our new members newsletter. Read on for what BEC has been up to over the past few months, including new solar builds, our exciting new electric car charge point programme, BEC members at Extinction Rebellion in London - not to forget our AGM!...
Why Extinction Rebellion’s Strategy Might Just Work
Support for Extinction Rebellion is found in surprising places After the internet shouting, Westminster was tranquil. A bunting of high-vis policemen lolled about Whitehall. "We're holding it as a contingency", said one. For what? "For the Extinction Rebellion." Soon,...
The Oil Regulator and its Three Stooges – the Industry’s Denial machine
Last month, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) suspended beleagured fracker Cuadrilla after the Lancashire earthshaker caused a 2.9ML earthquake. The OGA - the industry regular - says it's considering the 'appropriateness' of Cuadrilla's hydraulic fracture plan. That's...
Fixing UK Solar at the General Election – What can Politicians do?
It's likely a general election is just around the corner. Boris Johnson's government hangs by one seat; if we get a no-deal Brexit then Johnson will surely go to the public riding on his success. "Either way," says the Economist, "a vote is coming." An election is a...
£800,000 Invested – Join Brighton Energy Coop and Lets Get More Schools Going Solar!
As the millions of people planting trees in Ethiopia this week showed (see above), with enough will power, there's plenty that people can do about climate change. Here in Brighton we're doing our bit. With the support of people like you, since November £800,000...
Poisoning Poseidon with Plastics – We are the Sea’s Disease
Poisoning Poseidon with Plastics - We are the Sea's Disease Brighton and the 'Seaside' go together like 'fish and chips'. Brighton & Hove people know they are so blessed to be living close to the ocean. Most Brighton & Hove residents love the ocean! As well as...
People Want Environmental Solutions – and Brighton & Hove Has Them | Part 2
Brighton Energy Coop's salute to our Brighton & Hove home as a green, caring, conscious city - Part 2. We hear a lot about the terrible trouble we are all in. The climate crisis, plastic pollution, environmental destruction, this governments energy policy...
UK Fracking makes No Money and Never Will – Here’s Why
The UK government is intent on removing planning permission requirements surrounding fracking. Yet with Energy Minister Claire Perry demanding a "line of sight to commerciality", evidence from the US shows fracking almost never makes any money. The Economist put it...
People Want Environmental Solutions – and Brighton & Hove Has Them | Part 1
Brighton Energy Coop's salute to our Brighton & Hove home as a green, caring, conscious city - Part 1. We hear a lot about the terrible trouble we are all in. The climate crisis, plastic pollution, environmental destruction, this governments energy policy...
Solar Powered 76% of Ore Valley College Today – BEC’s Biggest Solar System
With the sun recovering its boldness today, solar rays have provided 76% of the energy at one of our biggest community-owned solar builds - Ore Valley College near Hastings. BEC's 1000-odd BYD solar panels at Ore Valley have been flexing their muscle all day today...
Only 700 more Signatures to Force East Sussex to Debate Divestment
From Divest East Sussex - add your signature here Dear friends, With polls showing a sharp increase in public concern over the environment, Mark Rylance resigning from the Royal Shakespeare Company over its continued sponsorship by oil giant BP, and Theresa May...