Projects and Updates

  • Follow us on Facebook for latest news, upcoming events and energy-saving tips!

Newsletter August 2026

We’re launching Energise Buckinghamshire in Amersham and Chesham this month, with events for homeowners and investors to learn about BCE’s community-funded home solar & battery service and first Community Share Offer.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading about progress to date and help us spread the word to make Energise Buckinghamshire a success!
  • Energise Buckinghamshire project update
  • Amersham & Chesham launch events
  • Supporting the community energy sector
  • Energy advice community events

Click here for the BCE Newsletter August 2026.

Newsletter July 2026

BCE’s popular Open Eco-Homes tours are back in Princes Risborough this weekend, and still time to book a place if you’re quick!  We’ve also launched a YouTube channel and uploaded our first video, a recording of the Energise Buckinghamshire investor launch presentation.  Read on and see what else is coming up this month.
  • Open Eco-Homes events – Princes Risborough, this Sunday 5th July
  • Community Share Offer – Investor launch presentation video
  • Energise Buckinghamshire – Homeowner events
  • Community energy advice – Events calendar

Click here for the BCE Newsletter July 2026.

Newsletter May 2026

Headline news this month is that Phase 1 of Energise Buckinghamshire, the new community-funded home solar and battery storage service from BCE, has now launched!  Read on for which towns and villages are covered, and how community investors (just like you!) will help make the project a success.
  • Energise Buckinghamshire homeowner events and areas covered.
  • Investor Launch in person and online 31st May – Why invest in Energise Buckinghamshire?
  • Annual General Meeting for BCE Members.
  • Home energy advice – community events and home visits.
  • Save energy and money with BCE’s DIY Home Energy Hacks!
  • Follow BCE on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.

Click here for the BCE Newsletter May 2026.

Newsletter April 2026

Today is Earth Day, and the theme this year is ‘Our Power. Our Planet.’ so what better day to share the latest exciting news from Buckinghamshire Community Energy (BCE) and to launch Energise Buckinghamshire – our new home solar and battery storage service funded by YOU!
  • New funding for community energy advice events and home visits from our Energy Champions.
  • Energise Buckinghamshire: a new community-funded solar and battery service for homeowners.
  • A Community Share Offer to invest in Energise Buckinghamshire and how to become a BCE member.
  • Upcoming events and dates for your diary.

Click here for the BCE Newsletter April 2026.

Bucks Community Energy team members, Energy Champions, standing infront of stand at local event with tennis ball carbon footprint challenge

Community investment to decarbonise homes one rooftop at a time

Come and join like-minded positive, proactive people to find out why you should invest in this exciting new community energy project in Buckinghamshire, and join the co-operative and collaborative movement to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions while earning interest on your investment.

You are invited to the OneClimate Centre for an in-person AND online event to introduce and explain Energise Buckinghamshire – for people wanting to invest ethically and sustainably.

What is it all about?

Buckinghamshire Community Energy has launched Energise Buckinghamshire, a unique and innovative project providing homeowners with the use of a free solar panels and home battery storage system, for a monthly payment, to reduce their energy bills.

Buckinghamshire Community Energy (BCE) is a local community energy group which brings together community investment to fund projects and to help people and organisations save money on energy and also contribute towards carbon reduction.

The first phase of 100 homes is open for homeowner applications now and launched in Weston Turville and Haddenham, before rolling out to a further 100 homes in other villages and towns in the second phase from 2027. This will give us a capacity of 4.2MW of solar generation and battery storage combined by the end of 2028.

You are invited to invest from £100 to £100,000 to help us reach our target of £2.3m so we can install 200 Energise Buckinghamshire systems over the next two years. This share offer is targeting an annual 5% return to investors.

For more information on the project, go to https://buckscommunityenergy.org/energise-buckinghamshire

What will I learn?

Buckinghamshire Community Energy’s Chair, Kirsty Shanahan, will take you through the project and explain how it will operate to save homeowners money while earning interest for investors.

By the end, you will understand the operational model, the value drivers which yield surplus for investors and community benefit, and how investment in this project will benefit the energy system by bringing energy generation and use down to community level.

There will then be a Q&A and discussion when you can bring your own questions to the floor – whether you are online or there in-person.

Do I need to live in Buckinghamshire and do I need to be wealthy?

Actually, no. The investors in this project will be a mix of local residents and nationally-based social impact investors. You may have £100 to invest, or you may have £100,000 – anyone can be a social impact investor. This is a community investment vehicle for community benefit and an ethical, sustainable, climate and people-friendly commercial model which will interest anyone with some savings that they can spare to do good stuff with.

More information on the Investor proposition is here: https://buckscommunityenergy.org/community-share-offer/

Register to attend in person or online

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/energise-buckinghamshire-investor-launch-tickets-1989813216896 

Energise Buckinghamshire solar and battery systems

With fuel costs on the rise, now is a great time to launch our new community-funded home solar and battery service, enabling homeowners to benefit from solar savings without an upfront cost.

Phase 1 of Energise Buckinghamshire will launch in Haddenham and Weston Turville initially, with capacity for 50 homes in each village, before rolling out further across the county. The systems will include solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and a home storage battery so that successful applicants will be able to use free solar energy to power their home on a daily basis, and also take advantage of ‘off-peak’ lower cost tariffs by storing energy on the home battery to use during peak hours.

We’re holding information evenings so that homeowners can find out more about Energise Buckinghamshire and eligibility, as well as how the systems will operate, with our local delivery partners, Kimble Solar and Energy2.

Please book on Eventbrite (so we can track numbers), or just turn up on the night:

Weston Turville Village Hall, HP22 5RW, Thurs 14th May, 7pm – 8.30pm event booking link here

Haddenham Airfield Pavilion, HP17 8FH, Thurs 21st May, 7pm – 8.30pm event booking link here

For more information and to express your interest in becoming an Energise Buckinghamshire homeowner, complete an Initial Application form here

Become a BCE member / Become and investor

You can support Buckinghamshire Community Energy by becoming a Member. Members pay £10 for lifetime membership and these funds are used to cover running and development costs such as insurance, website hosting, online services fees and professional services such as secretarial and financial support, and technical and planning advice for project development.

As a Member, you get a vote at the AGM (next AGM is online, Wednesday 10th June) on any proposals that the Board puts forward to the Membership for approval. You will also be added to our Members mailing list and will receive updates and information about investment opportunities when we launch a community share offer, such as Energise Buckinghamshire.

BCE aims to raise community investment for 100 Energise Buckinghamshire homes in the first Community Share Offer when there is a sufficient level of interest from homeowners to go ahead. More information for investors will be published here on 13th May 2026.

Members are vital for us to continue our development work, but also it is essential that a community energy group has support from its local community. Find out more about BCE membership and how to join here.

New funding for community energy advice

We’ve been awarded new UK Power Networks funding (via the Community Energy Pathways ‘Leaving No-one Behind’ project) for our Energy Champions to deliver free personalised home energy advice at community events and home visits.

Event pop-up locations range from food banks, libraries and coffee mornings to farmers markets, summer fairs and eco-events, and we also plan to continue our popular Open Eco-Homes events and Leaky Homes Roadshows. Energy advice areas cover anything from energy efficiency, heating controls and smart meters to solar panels, heat pumps, reducing fuel bills and accessing grant support.

Our interactive ‘Tennis Ball Carbon Footprint Challenge’ will be used out and about this summer at village fetes – it is a fun and engaging way to spark conversations around home energy use and encourage behaviour change. Giveaways like reflector foil, LED bulbs, insulation tape and winter warmer items mean that people can make practical changes and improvements with quick and simple DIY fixes to save energy and money at home.

Last year our team of 15 Energy Champions attended over 85 events and supported over 1,000 people with energy advice and Warm Home Assessments kindly funded by SGN. Haddenham Parish Council also kindly sponsored Warm Home Assessment Visits for local residents, and Heart of Bucks Community Foundation has generously funded 100 Winter Warmer Packs for some of the more vulnerable clients we meet.

Please get in touch if you’d like BCE Energy Champions to attend your events or arrange energy advice sessions for any groups you’re involved with info@buckscommunityenergy.org.

 

Bucks Community Energy team members, Energy Champions, standing infront of stand at local event with tennis ball carbon footprint challenge

Summer Fairs and New Recruits

British Summertime is here and come rain or shine, it’s the time of year our Energy Champions enjoy attending fairs and events across Buckinghamshire.

Here we are in the picturesque Chiltern hilltops near Tring at St Leonards village fete.  The Buckinghamshire Community Energy (BCE) stand was in a great spot (next to an ever-popular dog show!) and we had a steady stream of people keen to Spin the Energy Wheel and take part in the Tennis Ball Carbon Footprint Challenge – both fun ways to engage and chat about household energy and carbon reduction.

It’s always great to hear about different ways that people of all ages are already saving energy and have conversations about anything from electric cars to chimney sheep!

If you are passionate about the #EnergyTransition and think this sounds like a fun way to spend your spare time, along with some free training, we’d love to hear from you!

Find out more about the role on our website Vacancies – Buckinghamshire Community Energy

Open Eco-Home Events

The sun was shining and our Energy Champions were out in force in July attending Open Eco-Homes events at five retrofit houses in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire.

Energy Champions supported eco-homeowners with tours and discussions about their experiences and the pros/cons of installing and living with low carbon, energy-efficient technologies like solar PV and thermal, storage batteries, air source heat pumps and EV charging.

Visitors were able to ask questions about costs and savings – with down to earth, impartial advice on everything from draught proofing and insulating, comparing EV charging tariffs, the control apps and ‘engine rooms’, to growing a living roof and creating shade in a nature friendly garden!

Open Eco-Homes events are such an engaging and effective way to inspire people to make their own homes greener and more energy efficient, and we will be running more events throughout the year.

Would you like to see Open Eco-Home events in your area?  Sign up for future events and updates: Contact Us – Buckinghamshire Community Energy

 

Feasibility study highlights challenges of energy transition in schools

Buckinghamshire Community Energy has announced the results of a feasibility study analysing the energy transition prospects for seven major public buildings in Wendover.

The study aimed to assess the feasibility of putting all seven buildings onto a district heat network powered by a groundsource heat pump. It also looked at what was needed in terms of insulation and energy efficiency measures as well as the potential for installing solar panels to reduce the cost of electricity sourced from the Grid.

The seven buildings involved in the study include: John Colet School, John Hampden School, Wendover Junior School, Wendover Swimming Pool, Wendover Youth Centre, Wendover Memorial Hall and Little Acorns Kindergarten.

Collectively, they are responsible for emitting 398 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, at a taxpayer cost of £143,500 in energy bills. This is likely to go up by at least 50% as energy price rises hit contracts later this year. They were therefore ideal targets for slashing energy use, as Buckinghamshire aims for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Read more>>

Energy Efficient Homes Fair To Help Bucks Homeowners Save on Energy

Against a backdrop of soaring energy bills and bleak climate forecasts, a Bucks climate action partnership launches a one-stop-shop event to move the needle on climate change and put money back in the pockets of homeowners reeling from energy price rises.

Buckinghamshire Community Energy and Bucks Climate Action Alliance officially launched ticket sales this week for the inaugural Energy Efficient Homes Fair, to be hosted at The Wades Centre in Princes Risborough, on Saturday 24th September from 10am – 6pm.

Buckinghamshire Community Energy founder Kirsty Shanahan points out that: “22% of UK carbon emissions come from residential buildings. With such inefficient homes, it’s a natural consequence that we are paying above the odds on our energy bills. That’s why helping homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint and their bills is a win-win that benefits us all.”

Read more>>

Exhibitors:

National Energy Foundation logo

Chimney Sheep logo

Eco Tiffin logo

Feasibility study for Wendover schools decarbonisation

In an unprecedented partnership for Buckinghamshire, a local community energy group, Buckinghamshire Council and six organisations at the heart of Wendover’s community life have come together in an ambitious project to reduce the village’s carbon footprint and save money on energy by installing a range of renewable energy sources.

Funded by a grant from the Rural Community Energy Fund, Buckinghamshire Community Energy is working with consultants ReEnergise to carry out a feasibility study to see whether it is possible to take John Colet School, John Hampden School, Wendover Junior School, Wendover Swimming Pool, Wendover Youth Centre and Wendover Memorial Hall off gas and use alternative renewable energy sources such as a ground source heat pump to provide heating and hot water.The study will also investigate the possibility of installing solar panels on as many buildings on the Wharf Road Campus as possible in order to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.

Technical support provided for Studley Green Community Centre

Studley Green Community Centre has lived up to its name by installing a solar photovoltaic system that will offset more than an estimated 6.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The Centre’s Trustees hope the move will make the Centre a ‘green’ beacon for the local community, doing its bit in the struggle against climate change, with an electric vehicle charging point also on the wishlist.

The project, made possible with grants from the North West Chilterns Community Board and Low Carbon Workspaces, with advice and project management support from Buckinghamshire Community Energy, is also expected to save more than £500 a year.

Philippa Fibert, Chair of Studley Green Community Centre Management Committee, said: “We all need to pull together against climate change and we wanted to play our part.

“We wanted to upgrade the Community Centre in a green way, reduce our reliance on oil and gas and make considerable cost savings too.”

Read more…>>

How leaky is your home?

The Leaky Homes Roadshow will be back in December 2022!

Thanks to two small grants from Buckinghamshire Council via the North West Chilterns Community Board and Wendover Community Board, we were able to buy a camera to take thermographic photographs and run the Leaky Homes Roadshow with events in Princes Risborough, Speen, Chearsley, Wendover, Downley (High Wycombe), Hughenden Valley and Naphill and Wheeler End.

Our houses are a lot like teenagers. They make us spend more money than we want to, let heat out and draughts in, and lose energy at inconvenient moments. If you want to know where your house is losing heat so you can:

  • take steps to save energy
  • spend less money on heating
  • cut your carbon footprint

…why not sign up for a visit from the Leaky Homes Roadshow next time it comes to your town or village?For just £20, you’ll get thermographic images of the front, back and sides of your house, an explanation of what the images show, and advice on how to plug the holes in your leaky home.

The Leaky Homes Roadshow is brought to you by Buckinghamshire Community Energy, with thanks to Buckinghamshire Council for funding support through the North West Chilterns Community Board.

Wycombe Solar Streets launches

We are delighted to be partnering with Ellen Hawes and her fellow volunteers on the Wycombe Community Board Environment Working Group to launch Wycombe Solar Streets.

The concept has been rolled out across many towns since its first project in Frome, Somerset, and enables homeowners in a town or large village to club together to get solar panels for their homes at a discount.

Installer IDDEA has made it much easier and more affordable for people to decarbonise at least some of their energy use by getting solar PV, with the cost of the smallest installation package being £4,100 for a 3.6kWp system.

As well as reducing a community’s carbon footprint, IDDEA donates £50 for every installation to a local community ‘green fund’ to support other climate action initiatives in the area.

If you live in High Wycombe and would like to be part of the Wycombe Solar Streets project, click here to find out more and register for the launch information evening at 7pm on 22nd July.

Progress in community energy, like the dawn, is slow but illuminating…

After weeks of waiting for the FCA to approve and register Buckinghamshire Community Energy as a community benefit society, we were delighted to receive confirmation on 20th May that our Society Rules had been approved and that we are now in a position to fund projects as they get to the investment stage.

The coronavirus pandemic and local elections have both made the going tough in terms of moving forward, but we are hoping that at least two of our projects will get approval from the Parish Councils involved soon so we can deliver their renewable energy installations before Christmas.

Community energy takes patience and persistence to develop, but there is undoubtedly an appetite in Buckinghamshire for decarbonisation and climate action, and we will build on the relationships and connections we have been developing to help our county get to Net Zero as soon as possible.

What’s your view on global warming?

With the local elections coming up on 6th May, Buckinghamshire Community Energy has put together a Climate Change Survey to get an idea of what Buckinghamshire people really think about global warming and climate action and whether it is an important issue for them.

We will share the results with candidates for Buckinghamshire Council and Parish Councils to highlight areas of concern for local people, and how important they think it is for local government to act on climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

It would be brilliant if as many people as possible could fill in this Climate Change Survey so we can get a really broad spectrum of opinions – so please share it with as many friends, family, environmental group members, local councillors and neighbours as possible, including those you think are not particularly concerned about global warming.

Here is the link to respond and then share: https://forms.gle/Grit5XdpkaeUdGKR9

Got a large roof? Talk to us!

We are currently talking to a number of Parish Councils, schools and business owners about potential projects.

If you would like to see if Buckinghamshire Community Energy can help your organisation to reduce your carbon emissions and do business in a way that is better for the planet, please contact us. We will ask you for:

  • Your current electricity and gas bills, ideally by month and time period if you have an Economy 7 tariff or your supplier can provide you with this information.
  • The contact details for whoever pays the bills, if it is not you.
  • Your site address.

Please come back to this page later in the year for news on Buckinghamshire Community Energy projects. We will post progress and delivery updates here.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsDo not accept cookiesFind out more