Taking place at the City Hall in East London, we had a brilliant time at the Community Energy Awards last week, celebrating some of the fantastic groups, individuals and projects helping to make the UK a cleaner, fairer place to live.
The icing on the cake? We are proud to have won the Finance & Innovation award alongside Ambition Community Energy (ACE) and Bristol & Bath Regional Capital for our work in funding what will be England’s largest onshore wind turbine.
In April 2022, we provided a £4 million loan to ACE so that it could get the 4.2 MW wind project into construction after various challenges. Our innovative funding model was key to ensuring the project went ahead and we’re proud to have played a part in what will be a record-breaking project, serving the Lawrence Weston community in our home city of Bristol.
“This project is the perfect example of how innovative communities are taking back control of their energy and we would like to congratulate the Ambition Community Energy team for the passion and determination they have shown in getting this project built. We’re extremely proud to be part of the project, with our unique and collaborative funding model helping to get the turbine into construction after years of planning work. We’re hoping that other community energy groups will see this project as an example of what can be achieved when we work together and would like to say thank you to Community Energy England for a fantastic, inspirational evening.” – Monika Paplaczyk, Investment Director, Thrive Renewables
"We are ecstatic to have received the Finance & Innovation Award at the Community Energy England Awards. This recognition is a testament to the relentless dedication of our volunteers and the project development team at Ambition Community Energy CIC. We are deeply grateful for the support of all our funders and take great pride in this achievement, which was made possible through the collective efforts of our team, volunteers, investors, and grant funders. Without their financial support and backing, our community-owned wind turbine project - set to be the largest onshore turbine in England - would not have been a reality.” David Tudgey, Project Development & Asset Manager, Ambition Community Energy CIC
Once commissioned, the 115-metre diameter, 150-metre tip height turbine will be capable of generating enough power for close to 3,000 homes – the equivalent to Lawrence Weston’s domestic use – and will save almost 120,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime.
It will also provide a new revenue stream for the local community in Lawrence Weston, with all profits from electricity sales being reinvested back into the area and acting as a driver for regeneration.
Additional information
Ambition Community Energy initially received funding from the Urban Community Energy Fund in 2016 (BEIS funding which was supported & administered by Bristol-based organisation Centre for Sustainable Energy). Bristol City Council’s Energy Services Team agreed to help them identify suitable council land and the planning application received support from residents, local communities and local councillors, as well as funding from the Bristol Community Energy Fund, Bristol and Bath Regional Capital and the West of England Combined Authority (European Regional Development Funding) and a number of private individuals.
