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Thrive has been working with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) since 2015 to deliver the programme which has awarded over £224,000 nationally so far, saving a combined estimate of 94 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. In 2024, £33,000 was awarded to nine community buildings across the UK, including St. Werburghs City Farm in Bristol who used their funding to install LED lighting and a new heating system.     
To apply for a grant, applicants will be asked to complete an energy survey of their community building using guidance supplied by CSE. This will calculate carbon savings for different options and identify the most effective potential improvements. Applications will remain open until 7th November 2025. Full details on how to apply can be found on CSE’s website <a href="https://www.cse.org.uk/my-community/community-projects/thrive-renewables-community-benefit-programme/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

In celebration of our 30th anniversary, this year we’re making an additional £30,000 available to install solar panels on two community buildings close to our sites.

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We’re offering grants to community centres near our projects to help them become warmer, cosier and cheaper to run.  

It’s back! New round of Thrive’s Community Benefit Programme is now open

Featured

You may have noticed it felt a little less breezy than usual at the start of the year. But when wind speeds were below average, solar pulled through – balancing out low wind generation with plentiful power from the sun. In fact, the 2 billion kilowatt hours plus of solar generation delivered at the start of 2025, almost balanced out the reduction in wind power. Wind speeds quickly returned to the long-term average, pushing gas generation back down to record lows. By June, gas fell to just 21% of Britain’s power mix.   
What this shows us is that the British weather is ideal for clean power generation. Wind and solar complement each other &#8211; when one drops the other often steps up. The Ember analysis shows that there are only 2% of days in a typical year in Great Britain when both wind and solar generation are low. In other words, on days that it is not sunny, it is almost always windy – or a combination of both.   
This data confirms that in order to build a secure and reliable clean power system, we need a diverse mix of both wind and solar. It’s why Thrive is focused on diversifying our portfolio, most recently acquiring a 10MW solar farm to complement our fleet of wind projects. Dunmow solar farm certainly made the most of this year’s sunshine, generating enough clean electricity to power over 8,000 homes in June, which was particularly sunny. Meanwhile we have two new onshore wind farms in construction to further complement the portfolio, which also includes hydro, solar and battery storage.   
Whilst solar and wind can be considered the backbone of renewables generation &#8211; and are well aligned to support peak electricity demand during the daytime – hydro, tidal and geothermal can provide consistent baseload power when the sun sets and the wind dies down. Technologies benefiting from a mix of natural resources, plus storage systems, can be used to smooth out the delivery power on the occassions when wind and solar are less abundant. In other words, creating a clean power system that works for us all is very much a team effort, with each of our infinite energy resources playing their part. 
 
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[1] Based on generation figure of 9.91 TWh and calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,301kWh per annum (1,650kWh for a half year period). 9.91TWh could therefore power 6,004,241 homes for a half year. Scotland’s population is 5,490,100 <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates</a>

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Sunshine and wind.   

Britain’s renewables dream team

Soon to become operational, the turbine will be Scotland’s first subsidy free, 100% community owned wind turbine, capable of generating over 7,000 MWh of clean electricity a year – enough to power more than 2,000 average UK homes. Profits from electricity sales will be reinvested back into the local area, helping to drive regeneration. Plans are already in motion to refurbish a central community hub, the Knox Institute, which aims to provide educational and recreational facilities for local people.
Kilbirnie is the first of many projects intended to be funded via the Community Energy Catalyst (CEC). The joint venture was formed to enable us to help more communities to build their own clean energy infrastructure or secure stakes in larger regional renewable energy schemes. Fair Play Clean Energy, Thrive’s existing joint venture with TopCashback Sustainability Ltd, will provide £20 million of the investment, with Better Society Capital providing matched funding.

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Kilbirnie community owned wind turbine is the first project to be funded by our new joint venture with the UK’s leading social impact investor, Better Society Capital.

Community Energy Catalyst makes first investment

On the other side, an anti-ESG movement has emerged. We only have to look at what is playing out particularly in the US to see the impact right-leaning politics is having, with legislative steps being taken to curb what is being called “woke capitalism”. As a result, a worrying number of big corporates have started rolling back their commitments on everything from net zero to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Others are going in the other direction, engaging in “greenhushing” – a term for the growing number of companies staying quiet on their ESG progress due to backlash fears.
In positive news, <a href="https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4517536/research-majority-uk-investors-progressing-esg-policies-despite-us-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research from Isio</a> has found that 97% of UK asset managers have an established ESG policy combined with dedicated sustainability teams in place. The survey also shows ESG integration remains at &#8220;robust&#8221; levels with 69 per cent of asset managers committing to the UK Stewardship Code in 2025, up 4 per cent on 2024. Similarly, it showed 65 per cent of respondents had established net zero plans in 2025, compared to 58 per cent in 2024.
These are no doubt muddy waters, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t companies out there still genuinely committed to the core principles of ESG and positive impact. It just means that the divide is getting bigger between the companies that live and breathe these values, and those that have up until now used ESG as a smokescreen.
Integrity matters 
So, what do responsible businesses do faced with this changing world? We shouldn’t be shying away from the controversy but doubling down on our values. It’s about having a clear and simple vision that does not change with the political or social winds. Whether it’s called ESG or something else, the commitment to having a positive impact remains. And <a href="https://bcorporation.uk/news-stories-and-events/news/b-corps-outperforming-ordinary-businesses-new-data-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research from B Lab UK</a> has also shown that purposeful businesses are succeeding, with Certified B Corporations outperforming ordinary businesses in areas including revenue growth, talent acquisition and social and environmental impact.
As a UK B Corp scoring in the top 3% for impact, Thrive has been prioritising people and planet for over 30 years. It’s the basis of every decision we make – from the projects we invest into to the way we incentivise our staff. That resilience has allowed us to invest in 45 clean energy projects, 6 of which are 100% community owned, generating over 2.3 billion kWh of clean electricity and preventing the emission of over 1 million tonnes of CO2. To us, prioritising environment and society is simply good governance and one of the reasons why impact-driven businesses will continue leading long after the next buzz word has come and gone.

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Thrive renewables open day in Avonmouth. September 2022.

From a corporate trend to a political movement, it doesn’t matter if it’s called ESG or something else. A true impact-driven business will always put their money where their mouth is.

Has politics killed the ESG star? For us, integrity is what really matters

The latest government statistics confirm renewables continued to rise, driven largely by record wind output last year. Here are the key takeaways:
⚡​Renewables generated 143.7TWh of clean power last year, up from 135.8TWh in 2023, accounting for 50.4% of UK’s electricity demand
⬇️​ Meanwhile fossil fuels fell to just over 31% of total generation, down from 36.7% the previous year
💡 Wind remained the UK’s leading clean power source, generating a record 83.3TWh – nearly 30% of total generation
With the government aiming to deliver a clean power system by 2030, we hope to see the rollout of renewables continuing to accelerate. We’re proud to play a part in helping the UK reach this target, as we continue expanding our fleet of wind and solar projects &#8211; most recently acquiring a 10MW solar farm in Essex that will help power over 4,400 average UK homes a year.
<a href="/projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Find out more about our latest projects</a>.

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As wind power took the lead!

Renewables reached record high in 2024

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part in our recent share offer with Triodos Bank. Together we raised a total of £2.5 million.
As ever, we’ve been busy expanding our fleet of wind and solar projects – most recently acquiring a 10MW ground mount solar farm in Essex that will help power over 4,400 average UK homes a year. At the end of last year, we acquired the rights to our biggest project yet – a 57MW onshore wind farm in the Scottish Borders. Plus, a 12.6MW wind farm in South Wales that will be capable of generating up to 40GWh of clean electricity a year once operational.
We’re also continuing our commitment to help more communities own local clean energy projects in their area. Recently, we launched a £40 million funding partnership with Better Society Capital – the UK’s leading social impact investor. The joint venture, Community Energy Catalyst (CEC), offers flexible funding for community groups to build their own clean energy projects, or take a stake in part of a larger project in their area. CEC recently invested in its first project, taking over Thrive&#8217;s £4 million loan to ATTIX CIC to fund the construction and operation of the 2.5MW community-owned wind farm in Kilbirnie, Scotland. Thrive initially invested into the project in 2023 and the loan was transferred to CEC in July 2025.

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Thrive CUT 4.00_02_51_12.Still002

Thank you to everyone that supported us. 

£2.5 million raised in latest share offer

It was great to visit the newly operational solar farm last week, with members of the Thrive team hosting local councillors from Great Dunmow Town Council and Essex County Council. As well as taking them on a tour of the site, we were able to share more insight into how solar farms like Dunmow are helping deliver a cleaner, fairer future and contributing to the UK’s wider net zero goals.  
Also visiting the site were members of Uttlesford Community Energy and Community Energy Pathways, who are helping us to shape how community ownership could work on the project. Thrive has pledged to offer the local community an opportunity to invest in a 10% stake.  
Dunmow can generate up to 14,500 MWh of clean electricity per year, the equivalent of powering around 4,400 average UK homes [2], and delivering emissions reductions of 6,337 tCO2e [3].  
The project has a biodiversity management plan in place to support nature on site, with measures such as wildflower grassland creation and hedgerow enhancement expected to result in a significant ‘biodiversity net gain’. As these habitats begin to establish, we look forward to seeing more wildlife attracted to the site. Thrive is also working with a biodiversity consultancy to plan additional voluntary measures to further enhance our commitments. 
The site was acquired from the original developer, PS Renewables, in May and is the third project to be funded by Fair Play Clean Energy Ltd, our joint venture with TopCashback Sustainability, which brings together a combined £80 million in capital to fund new clean energy projects in the UK.

[1] Based on June generation figure of 2,230 MWh and calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,301 kWh per annum (275 kWh for 1 month) (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6763dd7ebe7b2c675de30820/Subnational-electricity-and-gas-consumption-summary-report-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6763dd7ebe7b2c675de30820/Subnational-electricity-and-gas-consumption-summary-report-2023.pdf</a>) 
[2] Based on a P50 of 14,500 MWh and calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,301 kWh per annum (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6763dd7ebe7b2c675de30820/Subnational-electricity-and-gas-consumption-summary-report-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6763dd7ebe7b2c675de30820/Subnational-electricity-and-gas-consumption-summary-report-2023.pdf</a>) 
[3] Based on a P50 of 14,500 MWh and calculated using DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 437 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2024) <a href="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>

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Our 10MW ground mount solar farm in Essex is now generating.

Clear skies, longer days and more sunlight – great news for Dunmow!

Shared ownership enables communities to take a financial stake in a commercially owned renewable energy project – allowing local people to benefit directly from the project’s revenues and take ownership of their local energy supply. It’s a hot topic right now &#8211; the government are currently consulting on how we can accelerate the uptake of shared ownership as part of a fair transition to a clean energy system.  
Hear more about how shared ownership works in practice and who it benefits in <a href="https://www.communityenergyengland.org/news/why-shared-ownership-can-be-a-win-win-for-both-developers-and-communities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our blog for Community Energy England.</a>

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Find out how shared ownership has the potential to promote a faster and fairer rollout of clean power.  

Shared ownership: a win-win for both developers and communities?

We were excited to learn that Thrive featured in the top 20 of businesses in the South West and placed 281st overall, with a 163% growth in revenue between 2021 and 2023. Thrive was in good company with the likes of OVO and Ethical Power also listed.
According to Business Leader, <a href="https://businessleader.co.uk/feature/growth-500">the Growth 500</a> is the largest and most comprehensive guide to the fastest-growing businesses in the UK. Compiled by Robert Watts, the man behind The Sunday Times Rich List, all the data is sourced from publicly available annual accounts filed by businesses with Companies House between May 1, 2024, and April 23, 2025.

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G500

Thrive featured in the top 20 of businesses in the South West and placed 281st overall, with a 163% growth in revenue between 2021 and 2023.

Thrive ranks as one of the UK’s most ambitious businesses in the Growth 500 list

As part of its annual progress report to Parliament, the tone was more optimistic than in recent years, with the CCC commending the Government’s “bold policy decisions” following its recent election, which includes the swift removal of the de-facto ban on onshore wind. The biggest gap identified by the CCC, however, is also something that featured heavily in the Government’s industrial strategy – the cost of energy.
Published last week, the Government’s 10-year plan to boost investment, create jobs and accelerate British business emphasised that clean energy is central to the UK’s economic growth. As one of eight sectors of strength, the Government published its complementary <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68587856b46781eacfd71de4/industrial_strategy_clean_energy_industries_sector_plan.pdf">Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan</a>, which it hopes will help tackle two of the biggest barriers facing UK industry right now – high electricity prices and long grid connection times. Below we unpack some of the key takeaways.
Electricity costs 
You may be aware that the UK currently operates under a marginal pricing system, which means the most expensive source of power needed to meet demand – i.e. gas – dictates the price for all our electricity.
But, as well as the price of the energy itself, the Government requires energy providers to collect levies or “policy costs” to help fund Government initiatives. Because of how the Government has chosen to apply them, the majority of the levies associated with the transition to clean energy are currently added to electricity bills. This means that people are paying disproportionately higher amounts for electricity compared to gas, despite <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/project/finding-ways-to-deliver-cheaper-electricity-by-rebalancing-levies/household-energy-bills-green-levies/">UK households consuming around three times as much gas each year.</a>
Central to the recent industrial strategy was how it can reduce energy costs for big electricity users, with the Government stating that it plans to introduce a “British industrial competitiveness scheme” from 2027. The idea is that this will reduce electricity costs through exemptions from paying green levies such as the Renewables Obligation, which requires electricity suppliers to source a specific proportion of their electricity from renewable energy sources, and the Feed-In-Tariff.
Unfortunately, these interim measures do not support the long-term switch from fossil fuels to homegrown, clean energy. <a href="https://www.edie.net/ccc-expensive-electricity-is-biggest-hurdle-to-britains-net-zero-transition/">As the CCC has pointed out</a>, what we need to see is the Government restructuring these levies all together, removing the legacy costs that have been placed on electricity bills and placing them on gas or into general taxation. <a href="https://www.edie.net/ccc-expensive-electricity-is-biggest-hurdle-to-britains-net-zero-transition/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=edie_daily_news_alert_25-06-2025&amp;utm_content=edie_daily_news_alert_25-06-2025+CID_ec79a57c63297a0733166e724823bba6&amp;utm_source=campaign%20monitor&amp;utm_term=CCC%20Expensive%20electricity%20is%20biggest%20hurdle%20to%20Britains%20net-zero%20transition">It estimates that doing so would reduce the ratio of domestic electricity to gas prices from around 4:1 currently to between 2:1 and 3:1 – a ratio comparable to Ireland and France</a>.
The energy transition requires us to migrate our heat and transport energy consumption from fossil fuels to electricity. If the levies were collected from fossil fuel consumption, electricity would be cheaper and the transition would accelerate.
Grid connections
The grid is currently a major barrier to progress, with limited connection capacity and inefficient queue management slowing down delivery timelines, meaning projects could be waiting years before they are connected and generating clean power for UK homes and businesses.
In April, Ofgem approved major reform to the grid connection process, with an aim to accelerate progress toward clean power by 2030 by pushing ready to build projects to the front of the queue. Additionally, there are proposals to ensure smaller projects such as micro solar and community energy do not face delays due to large transmission upgrades.
The industrial strategy recognises that the grid remains a major challenge, with the Government announcing that it is exploring new ways to ensure strategically important projects are connected to the grid quickly. This includes the creation of a new “connections accelerator service” which it says will prioritise projects that guarantee high quality jobs and bring the greatest economic value. While we welcome this in principle, we will need to see how this works in practice and want to ensure that small to medium sized projects, that are equally as important to communities, are not deprioritised.
Onshore wind
The Government will be establishing a new joint Government-industry forum to implement its forthcoming onshore wind strategy. The sector plan has given us a hint of what is to come, including the potential for onshore wind to be included in its Clean Industry Bonus. This will give onshore wind developers access to more revenue for investments in clean, sustainable supply chains as part of its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme – which we think will help boost investor confidence.
Other suggestions include:
<ul>
<li>Working with industry body, RenewableUK, to conduct a supply chain capability analysis for onshore wind this year.</li>
<li>Implementing ambitious new reforms to decrease the rate of attrition in the planning system and ensure streamlined consenting.</li>
</ul>
We have been actively involved in the finance working group for the Government’s onshore wind taskforce and will continue engaging with policymakers on the key opportunities and challenges facing the clean energy sector, with the ultimate objective of accelerating the transition to a cleaner energy system.
Skills
The Government has committed to “upskill the nation” with an extra £1.2 billion a year for skills programmes by 2028-29.  It will shortly set out its first ever Clean Energy Workforce Strategy, ensuring it’s “taking full advantage of the skills of our existing energy workforce and giving a new lease of life to industrial and coastal communities”. As part of this it will invest over £100 million in building engineering skills in England, as well as supporting an additional 65,000 16–19- year-olds in England by 2028-29, including providing key pathways into priority occupations in the sectors identified as strengths for Britain.
Following years of uncertainty, it was a breath of fresh air to see clean energy at the heart of the Government’s industrial strategy and a clear, consistent plan for the industry to work with. Aligned with the CCC’s findings, we do think the Government has missed a trick by not re-distributing the levies onto gas bills – which would incentivise switching to cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy.

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We share our thoughts on the Government’s 10-year plan to boost investment, create jobs and accelerate British business.

Missing a trick on the cost of energy? Unpacking the latest moves from the Government and Climate Change Committee

This is our second time winning this award, and it felt particularly special to be recognised in the year we’re celebrating thirty years building and funding renewables.

To top off the month, we were highly commended at the British Renewable Energy Awards.

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BG investor of year 2025

Celebrating an award winning month at Thrive. 

ESG Investor of the Year 2025

<a href="/news/2024/12/weve-acquired-the-development-rights-for-our-biggest-project-to-date-a-57mw-onshore-wind-farm-in-scotland">Whitelaw Brae, a 57MW wind farm project in Scotland</a>, is wholly owned by Thrive Renewables. We bought it from the original developer at the end of last year after a competitive tender. Ripple was not part of that transaction and Thrive has not received any funds from Ripple Energy or Coop 4.    
We were exploring ways to integrate Coop 4 into the project before Ripple went into administration, and since then we have made contact with the directors of Coop 4.  As owner of Whitelaw Brae, we will continue with construction and we hope to include an opportunity for shared ownership if possible.      
Thrive Renewables was established in 1994 and has an operational portfolio of 24 clean energy projects, with further projects in development. We have a long track record of supporting community and shared ownership, both at the sites we own and by providing finance for community-owned energy projects. You can find out more here  <a href="/project-funding/community-energy-groups">Community energy groups – Thrive Renewables</a>

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It’s back! New round of Thrive’s Community Benefit Programme is now open

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