Impact report 2024
2024 saw us deliver strong strong environmental, social and financial impact. Read our full results in our 2024 annual report.
Environmental
Social


Financial
A letter from our chair
2024 was another rollercoaster year for the planet in which we saw the 1.5C global warming limit exceeded for the first time, bringing with it a series of storms, wildfires and droughts that have battered communities and habitats globally. There have also been some real wins – in September, the UK became the first G7 country to fully divest itself of coal-generated electricity when the last remaining coal-fired power plant shut its doors for the final time.
The core of our business is clean energy generation, replacing the need to burn fossil fuels to generate power and thereby reducing CO2 emissions. The graph below shows the ‘impact portfolio’ generation and storage capacity we have enabled over time, either through assets we have owned or projects we have funded. This relates to our ‘impact portfolio’ of current projects, whose aggregate capacity (in MW) is represented by the dark blue bars.
Whilst we do not report on the generation or emissions reductions delivered by projects which we no longer own or fund, the light blue bars on the chart additionally show the cumulative capacity of Thrive’s ‘legacy projects’ – those that have now been sold or repaid. This demonstrates the scale of the renewable capacity and impact our investors have delivered over time. The green bar for 2024 represents the additional match funded capacity enabled for development projects Abergorki and Whitelaw Brae which Thrive has originated and manages via the Fair Play Clean Energy joint venture with TopCashback Sustainability Ltd.
Once the development capacity we have acquired is operational (in 2027), we will generate 75% more green electricity than the portfolio generated in 2024.
2024 development projects
2024 development projects
Ethical Power – 176MW of ground mount solar and battery storage in development.
Eden Sustainable – 2.5MW of commercial rooftop solar.
United Downs – 2MW of baseload electricity generation in commissioning.
Abergorki and Whitelaw Brae – over 69MW of onshore wind in development.
ATTIX CIC – 2.5MW community-owned wind turbine in Kilbirnie, Scotland, constructed and in commissioning.
Drumduff wind farm – up to 15MW extension granted planning permission.
We continue to measure our performance using the Sustainable Develpoment Goals (SDGs) Action Manager, developed by the United Nations Global Compact and B Lab. This tool enables us to analyse operations, policies and business models in terms of both positive impact and risks relating to the SDGs.
In 2024, Thrive continued to perform above average across all the UNSDGs that are relevant to our business. Compared to the UK average, our score is particularly high for five of these goals reflecting the core purpose of the business – funding and building clean energy infrastructure to help tackle climate change. We also performed above average for SDG 16 ‘Peace, justice and strong institutions’, reflecting our commitment to business as a force for good, incorporating transparency, robust reporting and high standards of governance. Read more about the UNSDG’s and why we choose to adopt them here.
Connecting with local communities
One of our favourite events of the year was welcoming a group of local nursery school children to our 20MW battery project in Bristol. The kids were able to explore the nature area on site and took part in a treasure trail to spot bird boxes, insect boxes, flowers and other wildlife. As part of our social impact work, we’ve also continued to support charities that align with our mission. In 2024, we donated £2,000 to Centre for Sustainable Energy’s (CSE) Share the Warmth campaign and provided £5,000 in match funding for CSE’s Green Match Fund, aimed at empowering more communities to take local climate action.
Community Benefit Programme
Since 2016, we've been providing energy efficiency grants to community buildings through our Community Benefit Programme. One of our grantees from 2024 was St. Werburgh’s City Farm located near Avonmouth wind farm in Bristol, which used its £3,350 grant to install a new electric heating system and LED lighting to make their largest community building usable throughout the winter.

£33,000
in grants for nine UK communities
More impact
2024 annual report
From celebrating our 30th birthday to acqiuiring our largest project to date, read our performance highlights from 2024.
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Biodiversity
We continued to review opportunities to improve biodiversity at our existing sites. For example, finalising a bespoke management plan to benefit wildlife at Dunfermline wind farm co-located with an industrial host.
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Certified B Corporation
We delivered on our 2024 commitments to further improve performance on Environment, Community and Workers, as well as completed the recertification process, now ranking in the top 3% of all UK B Corps.
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Procurement and supply chain
A major focus was implementing our ethical sourcing strategy and associated procurement policy based on the information we have gathered on the key risks in the solar and battery supply chains.
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Top news stories in 2024
19 Dec 2024
We’ve acquired the development rights for our biggest project to date – a 57MW onshore wind farm in Scotland
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22 Oct 2024
It’s our birthday! 30 years Thriving
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17 Sep 2024
We’re coming back to Wales! Thrive has acquired the development rights to CfD-backed Abergorki wind farm
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29 Aug 2024
Thrive joins forces with TopCashback Sustainability to help fund the next phase of the UK energy transition
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18 Apr 2024
Thrive in top 3% of UK B Corps following recertification
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