Great British Energy Launches £30 Million Community Energy Fund
Great British Energy launched £30 million in funding on September 17, 2026 to back over 1,000 community-owned clean energy projects across the UK.
Photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels
Great British Energy, the UK government’s publicly owned clean energy company, launched £30 million in funding on September 17, 2026 to support community-owned and local authority-led clean power projects across the UK, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced. The community energy funding UK package is the first installment of a previously announced £1 billion “Local Power Plan,” aimed at backing more than 1,000 local and community-led clean energy projects, according to the GOV.UK press release.
The funding lets local authorities and community energy groups pursue projects ranging from solar panels on local buildings to village-owned wind farms and hydro schemes on nearby rivers, with profits intended to flow back into local areas rather than to energy companies. “Today we’re changing that by giving people power,” Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in the announcement. “Whether it’s solar panels on a local library or a community-owned wind farm, we’re letting people decide what clean energy projects they want and making sure they feel the benefits of the clean energy transition in their pockets too.”
How the £30 million breaks down
The package is split into four parts, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The GBE Community Fund provides £20 million in grants to help community organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland test, develop and build community-owned clean energy assets; projects must show the community will hold a defined legal and financial stake and that a defined share of the benefits stays local. A new £5 million Partnerships Grant funds local authorities in England working jointly with community energy partners. Scotland receives £1.8 million in Great British Energy funding for its existing CARES (Community and Renewable Energy Scheme) programme, adding to more than £10 million already provided earlier in 2026. A further £2.9 million supports advisory services to help local groups develop community energy projects across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh linked the funding to this year’s extreme weather. “Ahead of New York Climate Week, we are putting power in the hands of people and places, so more communities can take action,” she said, adding that the scheme lets communities “reap the full benefits of clean energy – reducing emissions, cutting bills and reinvesting profits to benefit local areas, instead of big energy companies.”
Great British Energy chief executive Dan McGrail said the fund builds on the company’s existing community work: “Our vision is that every community should have the chance to build and own its own renewable energy. These grants will give community organisations and local authorities the practical support they need to get clean energy projects off the ground.” Community Energy England chief executive Dr Matt Vickers welcomed the announcement as “the first step in the £1bn investment in community and local energy in the Local Power Plan.”
Funding at a glance
| Fund component | Amount | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| GBE Community Fund | £20 million | Community organisations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| Partnerships Grant | £5 million | Local authorities in England working with community energy partners |
| Advisory services | £2.9 million | Local groups developing community energy projects (England, Wales, NI) |
| Scotland (CARES programme) | £1.8 million | Scottish Government’s existing community energy support scheme |
Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK), September 17, 2026.
The government also said it would set out further details this autumn on plans for community energy groups to receive an ownership stake in renewable energy projects developed by others, a model already used in Germany and Denmark. That would come on top of over 150 renewable projects Great British Energy has already helped switch on for public buildings across England’s Mayoral Combined Authorities, using up to £16 million in prior GBE support, which the department said could see up to £50 million in total energy bill savings reinvested in local services.
The fund adds to Winss Solutions’ coverage of UK clean energy policy, including reporting that plug-in solar became legal in Great Britain and on how community funding has been used to expand solar panel access. It also follows the UK’s completion of trials of seven long-duration energy storage projects, part of a broader push to expand community and grid-level clean energy capacity.
Background
Great British Energy is the UK government’s publicly owned clean energy company, established to invest in renewable power generation and help meet the country’s climate targets. Earlier in 2026, the government announced a plan to invest up to £1 billion in community and local energy through what it calls the Local Power Plan, of which the £30 million launched on September 17, 2026 forms the first tranche. Great British Energy has already provided more than £10 million to Scotland’s CARES programme this year and up to £16 million to Mayoral Combined Authorities in England for public-building solar projects. The September 2026 launch follows record summer temperatures in the UK, which the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero cited as a driver of the funding’s timing, and comes as the government prepares to publish further plans this autumn for giving communities an ownership stake in renewable projects built by private developers.
Sources: GOV.UK / Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Co-operative News; Solar Power Portal
Featured image: photo by Vladimir Srajber on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
