Community energy

Another form of PPA can be delivered by communityowned organisations; this is known as community energy The community solar model is designed to generate solar power on a wider scale, and share electricity amongst homeowners, businesses and community groups who are not able to invest in or install their own solar or wind system.

This includes solar farms (where solar panels are mounted on the ground on a large area of land), wind turbines, as well as solar systems on the roofs of larger community buildings like school, hospitals and leisure centres.

The community solar offer to building owners with appropriate roofs, is to install systems at no cost to the building owner, funded from capital raised from local people, and then sell electricity to the building owner at a significantly reduced cost compared to what they are currently paying.

Surplus cash generated by the community solar systems is then redistributed as grants to support community action on carbon reduction and fuel poverty, reducing their bills and redirecting profits back into the community