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As a result, the company has recommended a final dividend of 12p per share for 2025. If approved at the AGM in June, it will be paid to shareholders in July 2026*.
Building blocks to continue growing our impact
One of the big highlights of the year was the addition of a 10MW ground mount solar farm in Essex, which we acquired through the Fair Play Clean Energy joint venture with TopCashback Group Ltd, supporting our diversification strategy as we look to derive value from across the technology mix.
We also celebrated the first investment by Community Energy Catalyst, our joint venture with Better Society Capital, with the community-owned turbine in Kilbirnie now generating clean power and unlocking a revenue stream to fund other local initiatives. This includes a new Employment Hub, offering employment and training opportunities for local people, sustainable transport opportunities and help to address health and educational inequalities locally, as well as upgrading local sports and recreational facilities.
Also in Scotland, we made significant progress on our largest project to date, a 57MW onshore wind farm, with the foundations for the 14 turbines now poured, and construction about to get underway. A further 25.1MW of wind is currently in development.
It was great to see these achievements recognised on a global stage too, with Thrive taking home the gold for Responsible Investor of the Year at Reuters Global Sustainability Awards in October.

As well as building and acquiring new projects, we are actively pursuing life extension and repowering opportunities across our older sites. In 2025, we announced our joint venture Burgar Hill Renewables (representing the local landowner), with plans to breathe fresh life into the Burgar Hill site – a pioneering testbed for onshore wind in the UK. Subject to obtaining necessary planning consents, the repowering project is expected to have an installed generation capacity of up to 30MW which would deliver an estimated £150,000 in annual community benefits each year.
In February we took a key next step in the proposed repowering project, with Burgar Hill Energy (the joint venture between Thrive and Burgar Hill Renewables) acquiring two Nordex N80 wind turbines that were previously owned by RWE.
Supporting local communities
As part of our mission to connect as many communities as possible with renewables, we are now pledging to provide an opportunity for the local community to purchase a share of every new project we acquire.
Through our Community Benefit Programme, we awarded £33,000 to eight community hubs across the UK – helping them to make important energy efficiency improvements such as lighting and heating upgrades, insulation, double glazing and more. Stuartfield Village Hall, based near our Clayfords wind turbine in Aberdeenshire, were one of the grantees from 2025. To help manage their energy costs, they used their £4,300 grant to overhaul their lighting system.
You can read our annual report in full <a href="https://cms-admin.thriverenewables.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Thrive_Annual-report-2025_Web-Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
*  Please remember that past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future returns.

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Beavers-47

As profit levels returned to pre-energy crisis levels in line with forecasts, we have already acquired the projects we need to meet our 2028 growth target. 

Annual results 2025: Acquisition of new projects and progression with development and construction of two onshore wind farms helping to lock in impact for next 30 years

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This year’s Better Business campaign is focused on highlighting the need for modern business law to keep pace with a society that has evolved significantly over the past couple of decades. As you can see, we at Thrive have certainly changed a lot, but we remain true to our mission which is even more relevant in today’s volatile world.  
20 years Thrive-ing – 2006 vs 2026 
In 2006, we were growing a small but ambitious clean energy portfolio– having just purchased Caton Moor and Sigurd wind projects. In total the portfolio had a capacity of just under 23MW.  
Fast forward 20 years, Thrive has built and funded over 45 clean energy projects across the UK, including investing in pioneering projects like the UK’s first geothermal power plant and England’s largest onshore wind turbine. Today we have £121 million of assets under management, with a combined portfolio capacity of 175MW.

Modern business law isn’t keeping up 
It’s fair to say a huge amount has changed for our business and the wider sector too, but modern business law isn’t keeping up. Together with thousands of businesses across the UK, we’re supporting the Better Business Act campaign to change that by calling on the UK government to amend Section 172 of the Companies Act. This will legally require UK businesses to balance the long-term interests of people, planet, and profit.  
Why better business is better for business   
Having already embedded Section 172 into our Articles of Association, Thrive is living proof that it is possible to prioritise social and environmental impact alongside profit. We’re proud to be recognised in the top 3% of UK B Corps for our ongoing commitment to environmental and social justice.  
UK B Corps like Thrive have spent years proving that this type of governance doesn’t just benefit people and planet – it’s better for business too. B Corps’ turnover growth is almost 7 times higher than all UK SMEs, and over the past decade they have attracted 18% more growth funding from external investors than comparable UK businesses.   
On 9th June for Better Business Day, we’ll be joining the call for the government to upgrade to better business now. Find out how you can get involved with the campaign <a href="https://betterbusinessact.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

avonmouth-flowers

Avonmouth flowers

 Thousands of UK businesses are calling on government to modernise business law so that all companies prioritise people, planet and profit.

2006 vs 2026 – Renewables have moved on, but according to the Better Business coalition the Companies Act is stuck in the past

There’s lots of buzz on site at the moment, with around 70 people a day working hard to unload the components as they arrive and get ready for the next stage of construction. The concrete bases for the turbines have already been laid ready for the tower sections, blades and other key components to be erected.   
Whitelaw Brae will make a crucial contribution to the rollout of clean, homegrown energy that the UK needs to boost energy security and help lower energy bills. Once operational, it will be capable of generating enough clean electricity to power around 45,000 average UK homes, delivering over 66,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions reductions.   
We are committed to ensuring the project delivers more than just megawatts and benefits the local community, as well as nature on site. We aim to plant tens of thousands of native trees like birch and willow, and are planning to create a new network of paths through the site which will form part of the new River Tweed Trail. The project will also provide a community benefit fund of £285,000 a year and we are committed to offering an opportunity for the local community to purchase a stake in the project.   
We can’t wait to see the blades start spinning!

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Blades, tower sections and nacelles are being delivered to the site in Scotland ready for the next stage of construction to begin. 

Key components touch down at Whitelaw Brae wind farm 

Recently, Thrive’s operations team visited our Dunmow solar farm to get hands-on with the biodiversity management on site. With support from our ecology consultant, Wychwood Biodiversity, the team had a productive couple of days preparing soil berms (raised areas of soil) for the creation of a new wildflower-rich grassland habitat. This involved lots of raking to prepare the soil’s surface, before sowing with a seed mix rich with wildflowers, and then compacting the seed.

We are looking forward to seeing the new habitat establish in the coming months as the wildflowers start to germinate. Once established, this diverse grassland habitat will benefit a number of invertebrates and other important wildlife. Alongside other measures on the main site and neighbouring skylark area, the new habitat will will contribute to the site’s overall biodiversity net gain objectives.
Thrive’s biodiversity policy commits us to supporting long-term sustainable development, aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 15: ‘Life on Land’. We intend to go above and beyond legal requirements with voluntary initiatives tailored on a site-by-site basis and outlined in individual Biodiversity Management Plans.
We acquired Dunmow solar farm in May 2025, and it became operational shortly after, generating enough electricity to power over 8,000 average UK homes in a particularly sunny June. The 10MW solar farm can generate up to 14,500 MWh of clean electricity a year and deliver emissions reductions of 6,337 tCO2e. It is the third project to be funded by which brings together a combined £80 million in capital to fund new clean energy projects in the UK.

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Thrive’s operations team visited our 10MW solar farm to help implement biodiversity measures aiming to enhance the nature on site. 

Sowing the seeds for new wildlife habitats at Dunmow solar farm

We’re blown away by the reaction to our latest bond offer! Together we raised £5 million – hitting our target and welcoming over 800 new investors to our community.  The money raised will help us develop and build two new onshore wind farms in Scotland and Wales, and fund more community energy projects. <span class="EOP Selected SCXW29796238 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:278}">

Thrive has raised over £68 million to date via crowdfunding – empowering thousands of people to take a stake in clean energy projects that tackle climate change and benefit communities.  
Funds raised in the latest offer will help fund the construction of our biggest project yet – a 57MW onshore wind farm in Scotland which will be capable of generating enough clean electricity for around 45,000 average UK homes a year. The money is also helping fund the development of our 12.6MW wind farm in South Wales which will be capable of producing up to 40GWh of clean electricity a year once operational.  
We are continuing to champion community energy to enable more people to benefit from renewables in their area. Last year we announced a new joint venture, Community Energy Catalyst (CEC), with social impact investor Better Society Capital which will invest up to £40 million in new community projects. Thrive will also offer community groups the opportunity to buy a share of any new projects it acquires.

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Chris Watt Photography_87

Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, for good 

£5 million raised in people-powered crowdfund for new clean energy projects

The problem today  
Even though a lot of the UK’s electricity is now generated cheaply from renewables (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69cd1451b5210036050bc625/Energy_Trends_March_2026.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over half of total demand last year</a>), the price we all pay for our electricity is still largely set by gas. This is because our electricity system works on a marginal pricing system (48 auctions per day) which means the last power station needed to meet demand (often a gas power station) sets the price for all electricity. So when global gas prices rise, electricity bills jump too – even if most of our power didn’t come from gas. The link between gas and power prices is  weakening but we need more progress in order for billpayers to benefit. [1] 
Breaking the influence of gas 
The government’s latest announcements aren’t going to fix anything overnight, and they aren’t proposing to reform how the electricity market itself works. But what the measures should do is help reduce the influence of gas on the cost of our electricity, primarily by increasing fixed price contracts for electricity.  
At the moment, around one third of UK electricity comes from renewable projects with an older type of contract under the “Renewables Obligation” scheme (RO). Electricity from RO projects is sold on the wholesale market, at prices frequently set by gas power.  
The government plans to move some of these projects on a voluntary basis onto fixed-price contracts known as Wholesale Contracts for Difference (WCFDs). This would lock in stable prices for these projects that don’t rise when gas prices spike, providing certainty for investors and bill payers alike.  
Government also plans to increase the Electricity Generators Levy (windfall tax) from 45% to 55%, using some of the additional revenue to support businesses and households.  
Next steps 
Thrive has been calling for the decoupling of gas from electricity prices for 10 years and so we’re really pleased to see the government now taking steps to make this happen. Breaking the link will help create a fairer system for billpayers by better protecting them from price shocks caused by gas. It also paves the way to accelerate the rollout of renewables, potentially strengthening the investment case for clean energy projects. Clean power sources like wind and solar are the cheapest ways to generate electricity. So the less gas dominates the price, the clearer the advantage of cheaper renewables. 
As part of the latest announcements, the government also confirmed plans to take forward proposals to deliver the pace and scale of network buildout required to support the Clean Power 2030 target. Plus plans to unlock up to 10GW of clean energy capacity by expanding the deployment of renewables across the Public Estate, including hosting wind and solar farms on brownfield land, industrial sites and railway sites.  
Renewables are already playing an important role in helping to protect consumers from fossil fuel price shocks. In March, record wind and solar saved the UK from gas imports <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-record-wind-and-solar-saved-uk-from-gas-imports-worth-1bn-in-march-2026/?utm_source=cbnewsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=2026-04-02&amp;utm_campaign=DeBriefed+Countries+revive+energy-crisis+measures+Record+UK+renewables+Plug-in+solar+savings&amp;mc_cid=4d5c1ca8df&amp;mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worth £1 billion</a>. While we await further details, we hope the government’s latest measures will help billpayers to benefit further from the transition towards renewables.  
 As ever, our focus remains on working with the wider sector to build new clean energy projects that will support the UK’s long-term energy security and benefit communities. 
&nbsp;
[1] <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-why-does-gas-set-the-price-of-electricity-and-is-there-an-alternative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Q&amp;A: Why does gas set the price of electricity – and is there an alternative? &#8211; Carbon Brief</a>

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We unpack what the latest announcements mean for energy bills and the future of renewables.

Breaking the gas-electricity price link – what do new government measures really mean for billpayers?

Historically we’ve been caught up in a cycle of investing in more fossil fuels as a knee jerk reaction to problems caused by  disruption to fossil fuel supplies. This creates an unhelpful loop of dependence in which UK billpayers are left exposed to price hikes determined by unpredictable international oil and gas markets. And despite calls from some politicians to drill more at home, doubling down on UK oil and gas production won’t save billpayers a penny as gas prices are set on global gas markets regardless of where the gas is produced.
To build a truly resilient power system, protected from price shocks, we need to break the cycle of reinvesting in fossil fuels, and focus on increasing homegrown clean energy here in the UK. Unlike fossil fuels, wholesale prices for wind and solar aren’t tied to international commodity markets, offering a stable cost for electricity. The Climate Change Committee has found that the UK Government can deliver its long-term net-zero target <a href="https://www.edie.net/ccc-uks-net-zero-transition-can-cost-less-than-managing-one-energy-price-crisis/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=edie_daily_news_alert_11-03-2026&amp;utm_content=edie_daily_news_alert_11-03-2026+CID_d5ec660957e5cecd9adbeda7da88dad7&amp;utm_source=campaign%20monitor&amp;utm_term=CCC%20UKs%20net-zero%20transition%20can%20cost%20less%20than%20managing%20one%20energy%20price%20crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for less than it spent responding to the energy price crisis</a> in 2022 resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war.
But delivering “net zero” is much more than just wires and turbines. Community-led clean energy projects enable local people to take control of their power in the face of global crises. Profits from the sale of electricity from local renewables projects go into the pockets of local people, not large corporates. Take the Ambition Community Energy wind turbine in Bristol which Thrive helped fund – as well as generating enough clean electricity to power around 3,000 homes, all profits from electricity sales (around £100,000 a year) go to the community. Projects like this that are built locally have a big impact nationally – strengthening energy security and reducing UK carbon emissions.
We’ve got a long way to go to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and boost energy security. But together we are already making progress in delivering a cleaner, more resilient energy system – last year, renewables generated nearly half of the UK’s total electricity demand.  For 30 years Thrive has been leading the charge on renewables, helping to fund over 45 wind, solar and hydro projects and investing over £21 million into community energy projects that put people in control of clean energy in their area. But we’re not stopping there. The need for reliable, homegrown energy in the UK is greater than ever. And in times like these, a proactive response isn’t doom-scrolling or wishful thinking, it’s getting on with building proven, homegrown solutions.
<a href="/newsletter">Join our newsletter</a> for more insights on energy and climate, plus the latest Thrive news.

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ACE_June_2024-6

We have the solution to the energy crisis: cheap, reliable, renewable power. But we need to break the fossil fuel cycle.

The Iran war has brought home the need for clean, homegrown energy

Earlier this month you were awarded an OBE at Windsor Castle, which is an amazing achievement. What did that mean to you? 
It was a huge honour. It was just the most fabulous day and to share it with my family was amazing. The whole experience has been surreal, but the thing that has really blown me away has been the support in response to me getting the OBE, which actually has meant more to me than the award itself. I&#8217;m now in the space of, OK, now I&#8217;ve got it, how do I use it productively for further good? So it&#8217;s a real mixed emotion piece but fundamentally just surreal and a huge, huge honour.
You were awarded the OBE for services to net zero and diversity in the energy sector. Can you tell us a bit more about your work supporting women in energy? 
I&#8217;m one of the co-founders of the Women&#8217;s Utility Network (WUN) which we started eight years ago. And it started from a group of us sat around the lunch table recognising that whilst we all had senior roles in our organisations, the statistics were woeful in terms of female representation throughout the whole utility sector, particularly in senior roles We were all determined to do something to improve those statistics Right from that first lunch, the guiding lights were that whatever it was it had to be practical support for women and it had to be freely accessible &#8211; you shouldn&#8217;t have to pay because you&#8217;re a woman. So that set the business model and it&#8217;s really chimed with so many people. And I&#8217;m just beyond proud that we&#8217;ve now grown to 11,000 members and we&#8217;re now really being able to have an impact, even at government level.
What do you think are the biggest challenges that women face in the sector and what do you think needs to be done about it?
I think the energy sector can be quite a lonely place to be as a woman. The further up an organisation you go, the tighter the pyramid, and I think a lot of women get to a certain level and then step out of the sector because actually it&#8217;s exhausting if you&#8217;re the only woman in the room on a consistent basis. That’s why finding support &#8211; finding your tribe &#8211; is so important. I’m a massive believer in inclusion and diversity because different thoughts and different perspectives bring real benefits to a business. You can see it and you can feel it where that actually works. Thrive being a really good example.
What developments in the sector are you most excited about right now?
We&#8217;re recording this in a really difficult time when the Iran war is really quite scary. But I think if you take a step back and you look at where the sector is, we now have clear signals in terms of renewables.
The evidence is there in spades, in terms of we have to get off fossil fuels, and it feels like the snowball is now unstoppable. And that for me, from where I started 30 years ago to now, is hugely positive. I think the interweave of energy, of heat, of transport, of housing, is becoming increasingly important because the solutions come from bits of all of them. And I think that&#8217;s where I can see, particularly with the growth of technology and AI, those things beginning to accelerate and really move forward together.
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing the sector right now?
I think policy certainty is always the biggest challenge and has been throughout my 30 years in the sector. Policy pace is also incredibly frustrating. We often spend so long consulting and developing policy, that actually the market has moved on in the meantime. I think from a regulation perspective, it&#8217;s just a fact that regulation was designed for the old energy system when we had few players and just large fossil fuel fired generation. And we&#8217;ve tinkered ever since then, but we&#8217;ve not fundamentally changed. That causes a lot of unintended consequences in the market, which are not necessarily helpful. Geopolitics too is a massive challenge, both before the Iran war and increasingly so now. I mean, it really is quite terrifying how interlinked geopolitics and our energy landscape is. And so it&#8217;s one that we need to keep a really, really close watch on.
As the Chair of Thrive’s Board, could you share with us how you feel about working with Thrive?
I have the absolute privilege of being the Chair of the Thrive Board, which is a joy. And I work with some really great people on the board. What makes the board really successful, is that it&#8217;s very diverse. So we&#8217;ve got a real range of age, experience, male, female and different nationalities contributing. But we all share a common purpose. We&#8217;re all very driven in terms of Thrive&#8217;s mission and bringing energy and people together. And I think that gives us real strength and momentum. Whilst we have this really clear purpose and action, we&#8217;ve also got very strong governance, risk management and commerciality. So it&#8217;s that balance between doing the right thing but doing it well. And I think the results speak for themselves.
What advice would you give to somebody looking to pursue a career in renewable energy?
Number one, do it. I&#8217;ve been in this industry for 30 years and I originally thought it was going to be quite boring, but actually it&#8217;s the most fascinating place to be. I think it&#8217;s really important to remember that renewables is not just about STEM. We really need STEM expertise in the sector, but actually there are so many different roles within the sector that you can find opportunities whatever your skill set. And actually, really importantly for me, the transition to net zero gives a real sense of common purpose whatever discipline you work in. And I think there&#8217;s a common theme among people who work in the sector that we&#8217;re doing something that&#8217;s good, both for people and planet. And that has huge personal reward. So do it and be curious. Go and ask lots of questions. Go and get stuck in. Have a go and see where the path takes you.

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20230131ThriveRenewablePortraits-30

Read the full interview as Jo shares stories from her 30 years in renewable energy, becoming a leading voice for the sector. 

“The snowball is now unstoppable”: Thrive’s Chair, Jo Butlin OBE, shares her thoughts on the future of renewables

Capable of generating over 7,000MWh of clean electricity a year, the equivalent of powering more than 2,000 average Scottish homes [2], the 2.5MW community turbine will deliver over 3,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions annually [3].  
This is the first project to be funded by Community Energy Catalyst (CEC), Thrive’s joint venture with Better Society Capital. Thrive initially provided a £4 million loan to Attix CIC in 2023 to fund construction and operation and this was transferred to CEC in July 2025. 
Now operational, Kilbirnie wind turbine will directly benefit local causes, with all profits from electricity sales going into Radio City’s programme of sustainable development projects that address the need for capital investment in a new Employment Hub, offering employment and training opportunities for local people, improve sustainable transport opportunities and help to address health and educational inequalities locally, as well as upgrading local sports and recreational facilities [4]. 
It will also support the charity’s ongoing work to address the substantial fuel poverty in its community through assistance with energy vouchers, distribution of halogen heaters and electric blankets, as well as and one to one advice to combat and reduce peoples’ energy bills.

This watershed moment for community energy follows the UK Government and Great British Energy publishing its Local Power Plan this month, aiming to invest £1 billion in locally owned clean energy projects and ensure communities directly benefit from the schemes they host [5].

The collaborative approach to funding the wind turbine provides a blueprint for financing the community-led energy transition from the ground up. It brings together £5.6 million in blended finance – £1.6 million in social investment from Social Investment Scotland and £4 million from Community Energy Catalyst. Local Energy Scotland supported the project through planning and design with a loan from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). The project has also received a combination of Great British Energy and Scottish Government grant funding via CARES.

[1] The project operates on a ‘merchant’ basis selling electricity on a purely commercial basis, without government price support mechanisms such as Contracts for Difference or historic Feed-in Tariffs. 
[2] Calculated using the most recent subnational statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) showing that average domestic household consumption in Scotland is 3,429.3kWh per annum. 
[3] Carbon reduction is calculated by multiplying the estimated annual generation (7GWh) by the number of tonnes of carbon which fossil fuels would produce to generate the same amount of electricity. We have used DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 448 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2025) Table 5.14 (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied”). 
[4] ATTIX CIC is a Community Interest Company established, and asset locked to Radio City Association Ltd to develop the community turbine in Kilbirnie. 
[5] According to its recent strategic plan, Great British Energy (GBE) plans to support over 1,000 community energy groups to take a stake in the UK energy transition.

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Radio City team in cafe

Landmark community project in Scotland, which Thrive helped fund, is now generating clean energy locally, creating blueprint for national rollout. 

Kilbirnie community wind turbine enters commercial operation

Having provided the first commercial funding for United Downs in 2020, followed by further investment in 2023 and 2025 to complete construction, we’re really proud to see the landmark project come to life.  
The project is owned and operated by Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL) and will provide 24/7 home-grown baseload power, helping to boost energy security by reducing our reliance on imported balancing power to complement wind and solar. 
In another UK first, GEL has started commercial scale production of sustainable lithium carbonate, the key raw material used in the production of rechargeable batteries, including those that power electricity vehicles and energy storage systems. From its February 2026 starting point, United Downs has the capacity to produce 100 tonnes per annum.

The well at United Downs that produces the geothermal fluid for power and lithium is over 5km deep – the deepest well ever drilled on UK soil. It taps into water exceeding 190°C &#8211; the hottest recorded in the UK. After power generation, the fluid is processed to produce technical grade lithium carbonate before being reinjected back underground. The water brought to the surface contains over 340 parts per million (ppm) of lithium, making it one of the highest concentrations found in any well to date in the world. GEL aims to scale its production to over 18,000 tpa over the next decade, enough for circa 250,000 EV batteries a year – 65% of the UK’s 2024 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) registrations. 
GEL has two other sites currently under development in Cornwall, which will deliver a further 10 MW of base-load geothermal power in the UK by 2030. The British Geological Survey has calculated that more than 200 GW of baseload (24/7) electricity could be produced from onshore geothermal sources. That is the equivalent of over 100 nuclear power stations.

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Cornwall Time Lapse

The landmark project in Cornwall will also deliver the UK’s first commercial scale sustainable lithium.  

UK generates first ever geothermal electricity at United Downs

The two 2.5MW turbines, which were previously owned by RWE, are central to the plan to revitalise one of the UK’s pioneering wind farm locations. Burgar Hill was home to some of the world’s first multi- megawatt wind turbines and acted as a crucial testbed for onshore wind in the 1980s. It’s also home to one of Thrive’s oldest wind turbines – Sigurd &#8211; which has been operational since the early 2000s.  
Subject to obtaining necessary planning consents, <a href="http://www.burgarhillenergy.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the repowering project</a> is expected to have an installed generation capacity of up to 30MW which would deliver an estimated £150,000 in annual community benefits each year, aiming to create a lasting positive impact for surrounding communities.

In 2023 Thrive replaced the blades on our Sigurd turbine on Burgar Hill, which had reached the end of their life, working with ReBlade to repurpose them into useful items like bike shelters and EV charging stations &#8211; becoming one of the first UK companies to decommission wind turbine blades using circular economy principles.

wind-farm-site-at-burgar-hill-orkney-1

Wind farm site at Burgar Hill, Orkney (1)

A crucial next step in plans to revitalise one of the UK’s pioneering wind farm locations.  

Thrive’s joint venture, Burgar Hill Energy, acquires two turbines as part of proposed 30MW repowering project in Orkney

Here are some of the commitments we’re most pleased to see:
<h4>“Bottom-up” approach to the energy transition</h4>
Thrive was established 30 years ago to nurture and develop a bottom-up, peopled-powered approach to the energy transition, bringing together individuals, organisations and communities to get new clean energy projects built. So needless to say, we’re really pleased to see the vision of a people-powered energy system outlined in the Local Power Plan. More than just wires and turbines, community energy is power that is owned and controlled by communities themselves, where the benefits stay local. It’s energy by the people, for the people. We know this approach works – projects like the Ambition Community Energy (ACE) wind turbine, which is name-checked in the plan, are evidence of that. The ACE turbine in Bristol which Thrive helped fund is doing more than just deliver megawatts – as proud owners of England’s largest onshore wind turbine, it’s giving local residents in Lawrence Weston an active role in transforming the UK’s energy system, whilst providing a new local revenue stream.

Imagine what the impact could be if we could have the equivalent of an ACE turbine in every neighbourhood across the UK? That‘s the government’s ambition by 2030 – let’s hope it delivers.
<h4>Support for shared ownership</h4>
It’s encouraging to see a commitment to boosting shared ownership – enabling communities to take a stake in clean energy projects in their area. Shared ownership gives communities access to projects that are expertly developed and ready to go, including larger projects with more secure revenue streams.  Depending on the size of their stake, communities may have the opportunity to influence how a project operates. Since offering shared ownership in our first ever wind farm in the 90s, we’ve been committed to helping communities take ownership of energy on their doorstep. Now we’ve offering the community a share of every new project we acquire &#8211; currently exploring shared ownership opportunities at Dunmow solar farm in Essex which became operational last year and Abergorki wind farm which is being developed in South Wales.
<h4>Unlocking funding and capacity through collaboration</h4>
Community energy schemes generate 12 times the local economic value of commercial projects, yet currently generate only 0.5% the UK’s electricity. The sector is grappling with a lack of access to flexible funding, and a capacity and skills gap. The Local Power Plan promises to address the capacity gap, through developing new service models with tools and advice for communities to access, plus creating a strong partnership network across local, national and commercial bodies. It also intends to “crowd in” private investment. How this will be achieved is still not fully clear, but it is positive to see the government recognise the importance of a collaborative approach to rolling out community energy projects.
Our joint venture with Better Society Capital, Community Energy Catalyst (CEC), provides a working model of how collaborative finance can help more communities own projects in their area. The initiative provides flexible funding to complement government grants and other sources of finance, plus industry specific skills and expertise. CEC will help support the ambitions of the Local Power Plan by providing the flexible funding community energy groups need to bring projects to fruition.
<h4>Now is the time to Up the Energy</h4>
The commitments made in the Local Power Plan have the potential to transform the community energy sector. But at the moment, they are still just commitments. What we need to see now is regulatory changes in practice to remove the barriers that are preventing the sector from accelerating at pace. We’re particularly concerned to see more detail on how government intends to support communities in establishing clearer routes to sell locally generated power – as this is crucial for attracting investment from the private sector and ensuring the benefits of local energy are maximised for the host communities.
With the backing of organisations across the UK, including Thrive, Community Energy England are asking government to turn words into action by removing barriers to community energy and strengthening support. Find out more about their Up the Energy campaign <a href="https://uptheenergy.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

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