We’re in business! 

Eastbourne Community Energy is now a registered co-operative and it will shortly belong to you! We now have full legal recognition as a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, with two broad aims...

Our first aim is to create renewable energy projects for local people to invest in and own.

Many of us may have thought about ways to minimise the effects of run-away fuel costs. Many of us may have thought about renewable energy for our homes, but not all of us are lucky enough to have a south facing roof, or large sums of money to pay for these.

So, we feel there’s a smarter way - Community Energy. If we all invest smaller amounts of our money (or time) into shared projects we can all gain some of the financial benefits of the renewable energy revolution, plus save the planet while we’re doing it.

Our second aim is to use left over money to help as many people as we can to stay out of fuel-poverty and to improve Eastbourne’s energy efficiency, with projects that reduce our carbon footprint.

We’ve trained up to become 'Energy Champions' too, which enable us to now train volunteers to deliver energy advice to local people through the government-funded scheme called the Big Energy Saving Network. It’ll give local residents a chance to understand how to save significant amounts of money on energy bills, how to become more aware of energy consumption, and how to access the help and finances available if we have difficulties keeping our homes warm. We want to make energy fairer for everyone. We’ll also be giving free workshops that help us to reduce our energy consumption.

This latest milestone has been many months in the making, during which time we have developed plans for our first renewable energy project. When this project is launched, a community share issue will be offered, giving you a chance to invest in local clean energy and receive a good return on that investment.

In the meantime, we are working in partnership with Community Energy South, an association of community energy groups across Sussex, where we share skills, knowledge and experiences to help community energy become a true game-changer. We have strong links with many community groups, plus great support from Eastbourne Borough Council, and local businesses and we’re all working jointly to help strengthen our local, green economy, and improve our shared economic resilience and sustainability too.

Our co-operative was created entirely by local people working together to make this happen. We have some lovely volunteers, and we’d like some more please! If you’d like to receive the latest training in energy efficiency, please contact us here: lovelystuff@e-ce.co.uk,

Also, if you’d like to stay informed, here’s our newsletter: www.e-ce.co.uk.