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kessingland

Latest news

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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[1] Impact Portfolio describing Thrive’s share of projects owned plus 
the projects Thrive is funding (adjusted proportionally where Thrive’s 
funding is a minority of a project’s overall funding).
[2] Homes equivalent is calculated using the most recent statistics 
from DESNZ showing that annual GB average domestic 
household consumption is 3,323kWh (as of December 2025, 
updated annually). <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6945728a033693d5d50eb83d/subnational-electricity-and-gas-consumption-summary-report-2024.pdf">Subnational Electricity and Gas Consumption Statistics, 2024</a>.
Average residents per household 2.35 (<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2024">Families and households in the UK &#8211; Office for National Statistics</a>), Population of Southport is 
93,902 (<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/understandingtownsinenglandandwalespopulationanddemography">Understanding towns in England and Wales: population and demography &#8211; Office for National Statistics</a>).
[3] Carbon reduction is calculated by multiplying the total amount of 
renewable electricity generated by Thrive’s impact portfolio each year by 
the number of tonnes of carbon which fossil fuels would have produced 
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”). Additionally, we include a conservative 
estimate of the carbon saved through operating our BESS projects.
[4] This includes £5.1m set-off against financial assets repaid.

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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

Featured

Lockdown measures introduced in March to control the Covid-19 pandemic reduced the UK’s electricity demand in April by 15%, compared with April 20191. The International Energy Agency (IEA) found that global energy demand was likely to fall by 6% this year, the equivalent of losing the entire energy demand of India – the world’s third largest energy consumer.2
With demand as low as it is, renewables are making up a larger proportion of the energy mix, reducing the carbon intensity of the grid, with gas and coal generation only needed to provide stability services. The steady rise of renewable energy reduces the demand for fossil fuels, so clean electricity will play its largest ever role in the global energy system this year. Renewable energy is expected to grow by 5%, to make up almost 30% of the world’s demand for electricity, according the IEA2.
The UK is currently experiencing its longest coal free period since the beginning of the industrial revolution with 47 coal-free days3. Cool, sunny weather and reduced air pollution has helped drive a new all-time solar power record in the UK, with solar farms generating a peak of 9.69GW of electricity for the grid in April. The current unprecedented circumstances provide real glimpse into the future as we move towards our ambition to be able to operate the system entirely with zero carbon sources of energy.
In April 2019 the National Grid announced they would be ready to run the grid from 100% zero carbon sources by 2025. The lockdown has created a live laboratory environment for the National Grid to test how this can work when running the grid on mostly renewable energy sources. A big part of this is constantly and perfectly balancing the supply and demand of electricity. Experts at the National Grid forecast how much electricity will be needed in each half hour every 24 hours, then tweak power stations and big consumers’ generation and consumption to balance the frequency of electricity on the grid.
When demand is low (as we are seeing during lock down) the usual mix of generation is disrupted, as the growing portfolio of renewables is adequate to meet demand.  The learning taking place currently is how to maintain the perfect balance of demand and supply at times when renewables are delivering the majority of power.  The output from wind and solar is currently harder to ‘tweak’ up and down, and does not provide the levels of stability traditionally achieved using the enormous revolving generators typical to gas and coal power stations.
The National Grid is taking advantage of this unique situation to experiment with alternative ways of fine tuning the electricity system dominated by renewables, using batteries, demand side management and manipulating renewable electricity supply.  This is providing valuable insight into the future of our energy system on the transition to net zero.
For the National grid, the low carbon future has arrived in the form of lock down.  Assumptions are being challenged and both the physical and regulatory system is learning and adapting on a daily basis. This creates challenges, but importantly a chance to live trial a responsible energy system, providing low cost, low carbon and reliable electricity to keep the country going during these difficult times.
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[1] <a href="https://www.edie.net/news/6/UK-hits-coal-free-month-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.edie.net/news/6/UK-hits-coal-free-month-/</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/30/covid-19-crisis-demand-fossil-fuels-iea-renewable-electricity</a>
[3] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/28/britain-breaks-record-for-coal-free-power-generation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/28/britain-breaks-record-for-coal-free-power-generation</a>

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Renewables have been on the rise in recent years, hitting an all time high in 2019 with renewable energy generating 36.9% of the UK’s electricity needs.

Renewables dominate the grid

In total, the project raised long term project finance loans of £6.7m from Clydesdale Bank and £1.8m from Thrive Renewables.

Inverbroom will be Thrive Renewable’s second hydro-electric project, following Beochlich Hydro which has been operating successfully since 1998. Inverbroom Hydro will consist of two turbines fed via a buried pipeline which creates pressure to drive the turbine and generate electricity. The scheme will incorporate a small dam with a tilting slipway which allows the hydro to operate within the flood range of Loch a Bhraoin. The water is then returned to the natural water course further down river, allowing the scheme to operate with very little environmental impact.
When Inverbroom Hydro is built, the local community will be able to apply for Thrive Renewables Community Benefit Programme, which offers grants to improve energy efficiency in community buildings like village halls, making them warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to run.
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[1] Calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,781kWh, <a href="https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained</a>
[2] RenewableUK uses BEIS’s “all fossil fuels” emissions statistic of 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2019) p125 Table 5D (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied 2015 to 2017”), <a href="https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained</a>. Average per capita greenhouse gas emissions.

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inverbroom 2

Thrive Renewables and Clydesdale Bank have provided loans for the construction of a new 2MW hydro-electric project at Inverbroom in the Highlands of Scotland. The project is being developed by Inverbroom Hydro and Glendevon Energy.

New hydro project under construction in Scotland with new funding from Thrive Renewables and Clydesdale Bank

The UK has one of the most reliable energy networks in the world and across the country there are <a href="https://news.energynetworks.org/news/energy-networks-write-open-letter-to-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">36,000 dedicated people</a> working tirelessly to keep the power on and your homes warm. Not just engineers in the field but operations staff, health and safety professionals are all performing an essential service through this difficult time, for which we are incredibly grateful.
We spoke to Scott Ridley, Director of Cirrus Wind Services, an operations and management company who look after some of Thrive’s wind turbines. He talked to us about how his team are continuing with their important work.

The engineers who look after our wind turbines are part of this team of designated critical workers, but did you know, most of the time they can monitor them from the comfort of home? Here’s how:
<h3>Wind turbines normally operate without human intervention</h3>
Sensors inside the turbine automatically manage operations like adjusting to different wind speed and directions. Unlike many coal or gas power stations, they don’t need to be staffed.
<h3>Turbines are monitored remotely</h3>
Any unusual signals or alerts from the turbine sensors are picked up at the control room and can be investigated remotely.
<h3>The control room is coming home</h3>
Wind turbines are usually monitored from a centralised control room, but with modern IT systems which can be accessed securely remotely, staff are often able to carry out these operations from their homes.
<h3>Most issues can be fixed without visiting the site</h3>
It is only a small number of faults, servicing or inspections which require technicians to go to the wind farm. When a site visit is necessary, it will always be planned safely and in line with the government’s public health advice, such as observing two-meter social distancing.
<h3>Wind turbine engineers are essential workers</h3>
Due to their incredibly important role maintaining turbines, they are still permitted to travel across the country to carry out their work. In order to safeguard these vital staff, organisations we work with have put in place a range of safety measures, such as working in smaller teams and not mixing, using personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks and providing disinfectant.
Scott told us what his team are doing to protect themselves and continue their work.

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IMG_4751

As the world continues to tackle coronavirus, dedicated teams across the country are working hard to keep the energy system up and running and your lights on.

Turbines keep turning in turbulent times

<h3>Keeping electricity flowing</h3>
Our renewable energy projects across the country form part of critical national infrastructure and are generating electricity as usual. Engineers continue to maintain and operate our wind farms and hydro sites to keep essential electricity flowing. The safety of staff, contractors and the wider community is of paramount importance. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure their employees are able to work safely themselves and protect the communities they operate in, following government advice and industry guidelines.
<h3>Doing business remotely</h3>
Office-based staff continue to work remotely, phone lines are open and levels of service are normal. The pipeline of new renewable energy projects remains strong and we plan to offer further opportunities to invest directly into renewables in the future.
<h3>Providing help to our communities</h3>
We have voluntarily put in place financial support for communities close to our sites and launched an initiative to purchase Thrive Bonds from people in financial difficulties. Click <a title="Supporting our communities during the Covid-19 crisis" href="/latest-news/news/supporting-our-communities-during-the-covid-19-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/032608c8ad6a47d1a1142f93a2405f97">here</a> for the full story.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting impact on the global energy markets, we felt it necessary to review the <a title="Directors' Valuation" href="/for-investors/shareholders/directors-valuation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/0f06da8b681c4de29f91873a7e1eaaf0">Directors&#8217; Valuation</a>, resulting in a 2% decrease to £2.23 per share. Full details of the review can be found <a title="Directors’ Valuation reduced by 2% in response to Covid-19 pandemic" href="/latest-news/news/directors-valuation-reduced-by-2-in-response-to-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/e18fa1865f13416da41f478c3bc778ed">here</a>.

Directors' Valuation

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sigurd

Thrive Renewables has adapted working practices and is able to continue to operate effectively during the Covid-19 crisis.

Covid-19 pandemic business update 22 April

<h3>Covid-19 community crisis support</h3>
We have allocated £24,000 from this year’s Community Benefit Programme and savings made on company travel to provide emergency financial support to the communities who host our wind farms and hydro projects. There are so many people working so hard in their local communities to help neighbours who are vulnerable and self isolating and we want to make sure we support them where we can. We are consulting with local representatives to understand how our donations can have the most impact in helping those who are struggling. The charity, Centre for Sustainable Energy will administer grants to ensure the finances are easy to access and spent in a transparent way.
<h3>Bond purchase scheme</h3>
For some people, their financial situation has changed in a way that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks ago. We are conscious that some of our bondholders may unexpectedly be needing to access cash quickly. So we have put together a scheme for a subsidiary company, Brunel Wind Ltd. to purchase our bonds from people who may be struggling financially. Letters are going out to bondholders over the next few days with full details of the offer. It is important for us to point out that we remain committed to servicing our existing bond debt and bondholders who wish to keep their bonds should absolutely do so. This offer is purely for people whose financial circumstances have changed to such an extent that they need to release the money they have invested quickly.
<h3>Supporting staff</h3>
Engineers continue to maintain and operate our wind farms and hydro sites and keep essential electricity flowing. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure their employees are able to work safely themselves and protect the communities they operate in.  All of this is done in line with the evolving government advice and industry trade body guidelines on safety to protect public health.
Our office-based staff are all working from home at the moment. This brings its own challenges potentially with isolation and stress. We support each other with regular face to face calls and team meetings, and we are making professional mental health support available to all staff. In addition, Thrive is providing payments to cover additional household bills for employees such as energy and broadband.
As a business we are fortunate to be able to continue operating effectively, but only because of the amazing work of health and care professionals who take care of the sick and vulnerable and other key workers like our engineers who maintain vital infrastructure and supply chains. We would like to humbly thank them for their work and promise we will continue to do our best to bring about a cleaner, brighter future when this crisis passes.

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20160119_075757

Our mission is to power the transition to a sustainable energy future and we make that a reality every day by investing in and operating clean energy generation projects which form part of the UK’s critical infrastructure. We continue to actively develop our pipeline of new renewable energy projects and plan to offer further opportunities to invest directly into renewables in the near future.

Supporting our communities during the Covid-19 crisis

The price we sell electricity at is a key factor in the valuation, along with levels of generation and operational costs. Our projects benefit from a range of power sales contracts which include price floors, fixed pricing and inflation linked elements, as well as government backed renewable electricity support mechanisms. To estimate the long-term dividend flow from our projects, we combine the prices we have agreed in power sales contracts, wholesale electricity market prices in the immediate and medium term and longer-term projections which are provided by market leading experts.
Whilst the DV reflects the long-term value of Thrive shares, events in the short term have an impact. The company continues to generate and sell renewable electricity and has a strong pipeline of new projects &#8211; you can find out more about our business response to Covid-19 <a title="Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic" href="/latest-news/news/our-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-udi="umb://document/3d98ee4e23e74262b138e6a12d9c9a07">here</a>.  However, the pandemic is having a significant impact on prices on the UK’s wholesale electricity market.
Since the beginning of 2020, there has been a reduction of more than 15% in wholesale power prices. Whilst Thrive has mitigated exposure to these price movements in the near term, over the next 24 months we are now projecting lower electricity prices than previously. This has resulted in a 5p per share decrease in the Directors’ Valuation, reducing it by 2% from £2.28 to £2.23 per share.
The pricing of the UKs wholesale electricity market is complex. There are a number of key price drivers which are having a negative impact on electricity prices currently:
<ul>
<li>Global Oil prices have fallen by over 70% since January 20201 This has principally been driven by slowing global growth, the reduction in global oil demand as much of the world is in lock down, exacerbated by the oil supply dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia.</li>
<li>Natural Gas prices have fallen by over 20% this year2. They are linked to oil prices and currently have a direct impact on the cost of electricity in the UK.</li>
<li>A reduction in demand for electricity in the UK since the lock down was implemented in response to the Covid pandemic. Demand has fallen by between 10% and 20% as both industrial and commercial consumption has dropped. This reduction means that more of the lower cost generators (such as renewables) are satisfying demand and driving down wholesale electricity prices.</li>
</ul>
The combination of locking in future prices and the c.50% of revenues from government backed renewable electricity support mechanisms is limiting Thrive’s exposure to the material changes in the wholesale electricity markets which have been caused largely by the Covid pandemic. The Directors will continue to monitor the factors driving the valuation and communicate any material changes.
[1] <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmjpj223708t/oil</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwdwz5d8gxt/natural-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cxwdwz5d8gxt/natural-gas</a>

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Caton Moor

Thrive Renewables exists to enable individuals to invest in sustainable energy. We are pleased to have a numerous and diverse shareholder group, giving us a responsibility to provide all our shareholders with an indication of the value of the company – the Directors’ Valuation (DV). The Directors revisit the DV when material events occur.

Directors' Valuation reduced by 2% in response to Covid-19 pandemic

Buildings like village halls and community centres often operate as vital local hubs providing space, activities and support for the most vulnerable in society. However, expensive running costs and upkeep fall to the users. This year we awarded £31,000 in grants, for improvements like loft and wall insulation, new windows, double-glazing and energy efficient heating systems, which are calculated to bring carbon dioxide emission savings of 23 tonnes per year.
To date, including all four rounds of the programme £93,000 has been awarded via 31 grants to improve 23 different community buildings. In total an estimated 60 tonnes of CO2 is now being saved per annum, in addition to numerous other benefits reported by building users, such as improved comfort and ability to use the facilities more frequently as a result of the upgrades.

Based near our March wind farm in Cambridgeshire, St John’s Church received £4,000 for new windows, helping to save nearly 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

St John's Church, March

Based close to our Caton Moor wind farm near Lancaster, St Peter’s Church received £4,000 towards a larger heating upgrade project in addition to insulation works already underway, helping to save 2.64 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

St Peter's Church, Quernmore 

Based near our Avonmouth wind farm in Bristol, Avonmouth Community Centre received £2,360 for new windows, helping to save 5.76 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Avonmouth Community Centre, Bristol

To catch all the latest news and updates on our Community Benefit Programme <a href="/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign up to our newsletter now </a>.

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TIDE &amp; ISE 2018

The fourth round of our Community Benefit Programme has once again seen measurable improvements in warmth, comfort and light in shared buildings close to our projects. Nine community buildings spread across the country received grants of up to £4,000 in 2019 to make vital sustainability and energy efficiency improvements.

The surprise benefits of decarbonising your local community

The government committed to a legally binding ‘net zero’ target in 2019, to get us to a position where the UK’s total emissions are zero by 2050, although that does mean that what are deemed unavoidable emissions will be offset. A hugely positive move nevertheless and at last we are beginning to see changes in policy to reflect this ambition, after years of at best inaction and at worst hostility towards onshore renewables.
Most significant was the announcement at the beginning of March 2020 to amend the ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfD) scheme to allow onshore renewables to compete for government backed clean energy contracts which provide the long-term price stability we need to invest in new projects. CfDs, which have driven the recent boom in offshore wind, reduce revenue uncertainty and reopen the door to lower cost funding, creating new opportunities for individual and community investors. They represent good value for the energy consumer too; when market prices are high, the additional revenue goes back to the government.

The government is currently consulting on CfDs and we will be participating in that consultation and sharing our insight publicly. Frustratingly, England’s planning regime remains a major blocker for onshore wind. We are keen to promote and take part in a national debate on the part onshore wind can play in reaching net zero and working with the industry on best practice for engaging with communities to ensure they can have a real stake in projects close to them.
The whole world is experiencing exceptionally challenging times at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So many people are facing devastating personal tragedy and severe financial hardship. Thanks to the dedication of engineers who look after our wind and hydro power projects which are critical infrastructure generating electricity, Thrive is able to continue business as usual. Office-based staff are all working remotely and able to answer calls, deal with enquiries and continue progressing our investment strategy.
So we see it as our role to think about and action the recovery longer term, building on the solid foundations of the growth in renewables over the last 25 years, nurturing the green shoots of growing public and political awareness and building for a fairer, brighter energy future based on harnessing sunshine, wind and water power. To this end we continue to progress our new investments where it is responsible to do so and develop a healthy pipeline of potential new projects to fund.
[1] BEIS Energy Trends March 2020 (<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875381/Energy_Trends_March_2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875381/Energy_Trends_March_2020.pdf</a>

As we have now come to expect, 2019 was yet another growth year for renewables.

Building on solid foundations - the race to #netzero

Robust contingency plans have been formulated to cover employee absence and ensure business continuity as the situation evolves. We will update this page regularly to reflect any changes in our business continuity plan. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by phone or email.

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IMG_0022

Thrive Renewables continues to operate business as usual. The wellbeing of our team, contractors, suppliers and the wider community is our absolute priority and we are following government guidance. All office-based staff are now working remotely, phone lines are open and levels of service are normal.

Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Responding to yesterday’s government announcement on proposed amendments to the Contracts for Difference scheme Matthew Clayton, Managing Director at Thrive Renewables, said:

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Wind turbine NO LOGO

Thrive Renewables responds to government announcement on proposed amendments to the Contracts for Difference scheme

<div>So far, two wells have been successfully drilled, one of which is the deepest onshore well in the UK at 5.1km vertical depth, almost four times the height of Ben Nevis.  The wells are also the hottest in the UK with an expected temperature of over 190°C.  Initial flow tests show that the project will be capable of producing the UK’s first geothermal electricity. The project is now in its final testing phase.</div>
<div></div>
&nbsp;
<div>Thrive Renewables is investing funds to complete the final rounds of testing and to build the geothermal power plant.  Radial turbines, powered by the energy from water heated deep in the earth, will generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 6,500 UK homes and will be available 24 hours a day. There are also early stage plans to use the residual heat energy from the project to provide renewable heat locally.</div>

The United Downs geothermal power plant could start to generate renewable electricity as early as next year. Geothermal electricity generation technology has proved very successful in Europe and beyond, with over 12,500MW currently operational globally.

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UD 10

The United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project has been set up to explore the deep geothermal resources in Cornwall and is working towards making the county’s vision for a low-carbon energy future a reality. 

To establish the United Downs power plant, two deep geothermal wells have been drilled into the granitic rock beneath the site.  The wells are directional (j-shaped) to intercept a target geological structure (the Porthtowan Fault).  The natural structure enables water to be circulated through the hot rock from the injection well to the production well in a continuous cycle.   As the water moves through the rock it picks up heat which is then extracted and converted to electricity at the surface.

The electricity and heat energy produced from the plant will be continuous (24/7) as geothermal energy does not suffer from the peaks and troughs that many other renewable power sources are subject to.

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United Downs 3

About the United Downs geothermal power project

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UD geothermal 2 1400

Funding will enable final testing and power plant construction.

Thrive Renewables to invest up to £6.5 million in the UK's first geothermal electricity power plant being developed by Geothermal Engineering Ltd

Profits generated by the turbine were paid to the Baywind members and to the Baywind Energy Community Trust, a charity which offers grant funding for energy, education and community welfare in the Furness area.
Now that the 20 year agreement has ended, Baywind has decided not to make further investment in the wind turbine at Haverigg II. Ownership of the turbine has returned to Thrive for a fee, but the company is very open to further community co-ownership in the future. Thrive continues to invest in one of Baywind’s other community wind farms, Mean Moor, which is owned jointly by three community co-operatives.

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4 turbines

In 1998, when the Haverigg II wind farm site in Cumbria was first built, Thrive Renewables agreed to grant ownership of one of the turbines to the pioneering local energy co-operative, Baywind, for 20 years.

Thrive Renewables and Baywind Energy Co-operative agree deal for Turbine at Haverigg II

In recent months, the leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, has claimed that net zero cannot be achieved by 2050 &#8220;without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us&#8221;. And now we’re watching on as newly elected Reform councils promise to block any net zero and renewable infrastructure plans, with little thought to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/07/reform-uk-green-energy-assault-lincolnshire-jobs-risk">£1 billion in local investment and more than 12,000 jobs that will be put at risk</a>.
It&#8217;s something that – over our thirty years working in renewables – we’ve seen time and time again. The clean energy movement has always been targeted by a very noisy minority, but it doesn’t mean that progress has not been made. To the contrary, 2024 was the first full year in which renewables generated over 50% of the UK’s electricity and we’re now <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-half-way-to-net-zero">halfway to net zero as emissions have been cut by over 50% compared to 1990 levels</a>. That is something to be celebrated. We also know that most people are in favour of net zero, with 82% of the population on board with using renewables such as wind and solar to provide electricity, fuel and heat.
Despite some political parties suggesting that action on climate change is not possible without harming ordinary people, what’s abundantly clear is that inaction is already causing us harm. Instead, a just transition will ensure that the move to a decarbonised energy system happens with people, and not to people.

On a political level, we want to see people put at the heart of net zero plans, from energy efficient housing and support for local projects to upskilling and training for oil and gas workers navigating the transition. In fact, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/12/uk-windfall-tax-fund-switch-green-jobs-north-sea-oil">new research has found</a> the making UK’s windfall tax on oil and gas producers permanent would generate vital funds for the shift to a low carbon economy, including a training fund for oil and gas workers.
On a business level, there’s several ways we’re contributing. For starters, we’ve invested over £21 million in community energy projects – like England’s largest, 100% community-owned wind turbine in our home city of Bristol. Not only do community energy projects generate clean power and contribute to our wider net zero targets, but they also provide community groups with income that can be used to fund other important initiatives. As well as supporting communities to own and operate their own projects, we recently announced our commitment to offering the local community an opportunity to own a stake in our future projects. Shared ownership arrangements like this are a real example of communities and businesses working together to achieve a common goal.
Our community benefit programme also provides energy efficiency grants to the communities living close to our sites, helping important shared buildings stay warmer and cheaper to run during the winter. Since 2016, we’ve awarded 70 grants to 58 community buildings, totalling over £225,000 nationally.

We share our thoughts on why there's still power in uniting to tackle the climate emergency.

Net zero: The power of together in a time of division

Once commissioned, the project will be capable of generating up to 14,500 MWh of clean electricity per year, the equivalent of powering over 4,390 average UK homes [1], and delivering emissions reductions of 6,337 tCO2e [2]. We will also be offering an opportunity for shared ownership, with the local community able to own up to a 10% stake.
Acquired from the original developer, PS Renewables, Dunmow 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.
It is also Thrive’s first, wholly owned ground mount solar project and forms part of our ambitious growth plans to double the generation capacity of our portfolio by 2028. We recently announced that we have already made significant progress with this goal, securing new project development rights that will take our total capacity from 91.5 to 170.1MW by 2027.
The project already has a biodiversity management plan in place, with measures such as wildflower grassland creation and hedgerow enhancement expected to result in a significant ‘biodiversity net gain’ (+65% for habitat units and +19% for hedgerow units), exceeding the typical minimum 10% threshold set by planning authorities in England. We will also be investigating what additional voluntary actions we could implement to further enhance these existing habitat management commitments.<a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"></a>

[1] 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>)
[1] 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/">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>

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The site will contribute to the 47GW of new solar needed by 2030 as outlined in the Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. 

Let the sun shine…We’ve acquired a 10MW ground mount solar farm!

To help fund this exciting period of growth, today we have launched a new share offer on the Triodos Bank Crowdfunding platform, aiming to raise £5 million to build new clean energy projects that will cut carbon emissions, help reduce household bills and benefit communities.
Our co-investment partnership with TopCashback Sustainability, will enable us to deploy an additional £40 million of capital by match funding what we invest. We’ve also recently announced a new joint venture with leading social impact investor, Better Society Capital, bringing together £40 million for community-owned wind and solar projects across the UK. Fair Play Clean Energy, Thrive’s joint venture with TopCashback Sustainability, will provide £20 million of the investment, with Better Society Capital providing matched funding.

Strong financial performance 
Last year saw us make significant progress with our growth strategy, securing the rights to build a 12.6MW wind farm in Wales and 57MW wind farm in the Scottish Borders, which is now under construction.
These new deals complement our existing operational portfolio of 24 projects which generated £11.3 million in operating profit (£9.3 million in profit after tax and minority interests) on a revenue of £26 million in 2024. In 2024, 20.6 million was reinvested back into building new renewable projects, while our existing wind, solar and hydro projects generated over 132,000 MWh of clean electricity and delivered emissions reductions equivalent to 61,810 tCO₂e.
A dividend of 12 pence per share has been recommended by the board for shareholder approval at the AGM in June. If approved, the dividend will be paid in July 2025.
Other recent developments include the construction of the ATTIX CIC community-owned wind turbine in Kilbirnie and the installation of the generation turbine at United Downs in Cornwall, with both sites expected to be operational in the coming months.

Now open, the minimum investment in the crowdfunding offer is £247 (100 shares) and shares can be held in a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). The company is targeting 5-8% return per year through a combination of dividends and increasing share value. This should be seen as a long-term investment. As with all investments, returns are not guaranteed, and investors may not get back all, or any, of their original investment.

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