Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device by websites that you visit. If you click accept, we will use cookies that track your activity across other websites, help improve your browsing experience and serve you personalised content.
If you click decline, we will only use essential cookies that are required for our website to work properly. For more information or to change your preferences, please read our Cookie policy <a href="/cookie-policy/">cookie policy</a>.

Find out more

Link

Investors

Dev Links

Buy and sell shares

Shareholders

Bonds

Overview

2024 annual report

Projects

Quick Links

From South Cornwall to Orkney, from onshore wind and solar to geothermal, our diverse portfolio of clean energy projects spans the whole of the UK.

Operational

Under construction

Legacy

Impact

As one of the UK’s highest scoring B Corps, we are committed to using our business as a force for good.

Our approach

Community support

30 years Thriving

Project funding

Thrive brings together flexible funding models, proven technologies, and problem-solving people to turn your clean energy project into a reality.

Funding for

Case studies

About

Thrive exists to tackle the climate emergency, working with investors, developers, businesses and communities to fund, build and operate clean energy projects since 1994.

About us

Governance

View all

News

Find out more about our new projects, events and industry insight. 

News 

Useful Documents

News and insight

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. <a href="/risk-summary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Take 2 mins to learn more</a>.

Sign up to our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about new projects, events and industry insight. Your data will be processed in line with Thrive’s privacy policy, available <a href="/privacy-policy/">here</a>.

Newsletter - thank you

Be part of the clean energy movement

Sign up to our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about new projects, events and industry insight. Your data will be processed in line with Thrive’s privacy policy, available <a href="/privacy-policy/">here</a>.

kessingland-2

kessingland

Latest news

In the year we celebrated 30 years building and funding clean energy projects, it was special to acquire the rights to our biggest project yet. Construction has started on a 57MW wind farm in the Scottish Borders, which will generate enough power to meet the needs of over 45,000 average UK homes a year once operational.
The project was acquired with the support of our new match funding partner, TopCashback Sustainability Ltd. Fair Play Clean Energy, Thrive’s joint venture with TopCashback Sustainability brings together a combined £80 million in capital to fund new clean energy projects in the UK. An additional £20 million in match funding has also been secured to fund community owned wind and solar via our partnership with social impact investor, Better Society Capital, ensuring ordinary people can own and benefit from their local projects.  The two funding relationships allow Thrive to accelerate the scale of impact deliverable.
Last year we also acquired the rights to the 12.6MW Abergorki wind farm in South Wales which is due to start construction this summer.
With 40MW of new capacity added to our development pipeline in 2024, plus a further 35MW of match funded development capacity, we are well on track to achieve our goal to double generation capacity by 2028.
We recently launched a new share offer to help fund these new projects. More details are available on the <a href="https://www.triodoscrowdfunding.co.uk/invest/thrive-renewables" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Triodos Bank crowdfunding platform</a>.

Supporting communities near our sites remains a crucial part of our social impact work. Through our annual Community Benefit Programme, last year we awarded £33,000 in energy efficiency grants to community centres close to our clean energy projects. The grants have enabled important community hubs to make energy efficiency improvements, such as insulation and draught proofing that help cut carbon and costs.
We were also pleased to celebrate our 30th birthday with many of you at our open day at Caton Moor wind farm in September.
You can read our annual report in full <a href="https://cms-admin.thriverenewables.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Thrive_Annual-report_2025_Web_Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

chris-watt-photography_87

Chris Watt Photography_87

Highlights from our annual results.

Thrive announces £11.3 million operating profit for 2024 – with £20.6 million cash allocated to build new clean energy projects

Featured

The extension will add three turbines with an expected generation capacity of 12-15MW, bringing the overall Drumduff Wind Farm to 6 turbines and the combined onsite generation capacity to over 21MW.
Located primarily in a commercial Sitka Spruce forest, the project plan includes substantial ‘forest to bog’ restoration of peatland bringing substantial ecological and biodiversity gains. The project will also be providing £5,000 per MW of installed generation capacity to the local community.

Drumdduff is located next to Blawhorn Moss National Nature Reserve, an area of peatland, home to a rich and diverse ecosystem that’s crucial for tackling biodiversity loss. We’ve worked with NatureScot to extend the boardwalk at the nature reserve so that local residents can enjoy this area of natural beauty.

Sign up to our newsletter to be one of the first to hear about new projects, events and industry insight. You can unsubscribe at any time.

dc01

DC01

The extension will boost the overall capacity of the Scottish wind project to over 21MW.

Planning consent for Drumduff wind farm extension will triple its generation capacity

An on-site or ‘direct wire’ project is when a renewable asset like a rooftop solar array is built on a commercial premises, with the host business benefitting from a direct supply of clean electricity. With no upfront capital investment required, the business will purchase the energy directly from Eden through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Such arrangements help to protect the host business against high energy prices at the same time as supporting the UK’s net zero goals.  
​​The first round of investment will be into 15 schools, including​ ​phase 1 of the ​Oasis Community Learning ​portfolio,​​ ​which ​will save​ an estimated 8,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and £3 million in total.

Commercial buildings are currently responsible for almost a quarter (23%) of built environment carbon emissions in the UK [1], however​,​ rooftop solar projects can help businesses to decarbonise by giving them access to a direct supply of cheaper, cleaner electricity.  
This holds significant potential for supporting the UK’s net zero goals, with a 2023 report by the countryside charity, CPRE, suggesting that installing solar panels on existing rooftops and other land could deliver at least 40-50GW in England alone – going a long way to meet the ​solar industry’s ​target of delivering 70GW of new solar energy by 2035.

scott-burrows-eden-monika-paplaczyk-thrive

Scott Burrows (Eden) Monika Paplaczyk (Thrive)

We’re working together to install rooftop and ground mount solar on schools and businesses across the UK.

Thrive partners with Eden Sustainable on solar accelerator deal facility aiming to fund up to 75MW of new 'direct wire' solar projects

The new score reflects our growing environmental and social impact as we continue bringing together people, companies and communities to accelerate change. 
Core areas of the business that we’ve increased our impact in include environmental reporting and supply chain due diligence. We also significantly increased energy efficiency in our office, for example overhauling the lighting to an intelligent system of LEDs that are using over 60% less energy.
Thrive has been taking action to tackle climate change for almost 30 years. During that time we’ve built or funded 39 clean energy projects, generating over 2.2TWh of clean electricity. That’s <a href="https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/thrive-renewables-plc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enough to meet the demand of 1.3 million UK residents, saving over 1 million tonnes of CO2e emissions</a><a href="https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/thrive-renewables-plc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.</a> 
In 2023 our portfolio of renewable energy projects generated 136,316MWh of clean electricity, enough to power all the homes in a town the size of Preston and delivered emissions reductions equivalent to 58,620 tCO2e. Recognising that there’s always more that we can do to reduce our carbon intensity we have committed to <a href="/our-impact/business-ethics/net-zero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaching net zero by 2030</a> as part of the SME Climate Hub.

[1] Based on our analysis of a publicly available dataset from B Lab, up to date as of April 2024: <a href="https://data.world/blab/b-corp-impact-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://data.world/blab/b-corp-impact-data</a><a href="https://data.world/blab/b-corp-impact-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> </a>

bristol-bath-b-corps-b

Bristol & Bath B Corps B

Twenty point increase in impact score.

Thrive in top 3% of UK B Corps following recertification

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE)’s Green Match Fund appeal aims to provide more communities with the bespoke tools and resources that they need to create sustainable, resilient places to live – from improving the energy efficiency of houses and community buildings to preserving natural spaces and setting up social enterprises for community energy.  
As long-standing supporters of CSE’s work helping communities to take local climate action, we are proud to support their Green Match Fund this April. Between 18th-25th, Thrive will be doubling donations made to CSE until the match pot runs out. This means your donation could make twice the difference.
<h4><a href="https://donate.biggive.org/campaign/a056900002S0j8wAAB?utm_source=thrive&amp;utm_medium=comms&amp;utm_campaign=gmf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to donate</a></h4>

Providing Green Match Funding to CSE is part of our wider commitment to the charity. They also  deliver our Community Benefit Programme which improves energy efficiency for community buildings near our sites, making them warmer, cosier and cheaper to run. By working together on the Green Match Fund we can help even more communities reduce carbon emissions and use energy more sustainably.

Make double the difference to community climate action 

ace_june_2024-6

ACE_June_2024-6

Green Match Fund 2024

We’re helping them make double the difference to community climate action.

Centre for Sustainable Energy's Big Give Green Match Fund

The bond helped to fund new projects that deliver cheaper, cleaner electricity to homes and businesses across the UK, including a milestone community wind project in Cumbria in 2017. Mean Moor wind farm was the first recipient of our award-winning community energy funding bridge, enabling the first commercial scale wind farm in the country to transfer from a developer to 100% community ownership. Funds raised by the bond were also used to build a 6MW wind farm in West Lothian on the site of a disused coal mine, as well as a 2MW hydro-electric project in the Scottish Highlands.

Thrive was ‘highly commended’ at Investment Week’s Sustainable Investment Awards in 2017 for this innovative green energy bond, giving bondholders the opportunity to include their investment in an IFISA.

img_4719

IMG_4719

Launching in 2016, it was the first bond offer to be available through an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).

Second Thrive bond successfully repaid after seven years funding new clean energy projects

In total our wind, solar and hydro projects delivered emissions reductions equivalent to 58,620 tCO2e, a 1% increase in impact on 2022 [3]. 
Despite overall wind speeds in the UK being slightly lower last year than the long-term average, we managed to generate more power than in 2022.  
As part of our long-term growth strategy we aim to double our renewable generation capacity over the next five years. Last year we made <a href="/latest-news/news/new-deal-with-ethical-power-will-help-double-thrive-s-impact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our largest single investment to date</a> and continued to support community-owned projects, including committing £4 million to <a href="/latest-news/news/4-million-investment-into-community-group-attix-cic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scotland’s first subsidy free, 100% community-owned onshore wind turbine</a>.  
We also extended the life of our 22 year old Sigurd wind turbine on Orkney after the original blades reached end of life having generated 88GWh of clean electricity in one of the windiest spots in the UK. Refurbished blades have been fitted so that Sigurd can continue generating clean electricity while the old blades are being <a href="/latest-news/news/reducing-waste-at-our-sigurd-wind-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repurposed into useful items like bike shelters and EV charging stations</a>.

[1] Impact Portfolio describing Thrive’s share of projects owned plus the projects Thrive is funding.
[2] Average residents per household 2.4 (<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020</a>), Population of Preston is 99,198 (<a href="https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-1000/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-1000/</a>).
[3] RenewableUK uses DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 424 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2023) Table 5.14 (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied”). Carbon reduction is calculated by multiplying the total amount of renewable electricity generated by Thrive’s impact portfolio per year by the number of tonnes of carbon which fossil fuels would have produced to generate the same amount of electricity.

featured-post-2

Consistent performance across the portfolio in 2023, despite a slight drop in wind.

Records and repowering: We generated enough clean electricity to power 42,000 homes

Now in its seventh year, the 2023 programme awarded a record £37,692 to ten community groups. The estimated carbon savings from this round alone amount to 7.5 tonnes CO2 equivalent every year. We also provided free online training on the topics of energy advice, community approaches to tackling fuel poverty, and community building energy efficiency. 50% of the people who came to these training sessions had not previously engaged with the programme but were eager to do so afterwards, with two-thirds saying they had been inspired to conduct a survey of their building. Plus, everyone who attended expressed motivation to support their communities in tackling fuel poverty, with all groups also keen to initiate their energy projects.  
Hear from some of the grantees in <a href="https://www.cse.org.uk/news/community-buildings-are-thrive-ing-across-the-uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CSE’s article</a>.

hawksbury-hospital-hall-e1710320781213

It’s been a record year for our Community Benefit Programme– over £37,000 awarded in energy efficiency grants.

Community buildings thriving across the UK

Figures by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and analysed by think tank New Economics Foundation, revealed that only seven applications were submitted last year – but all of those <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/15/zero-plans-for-public-onshore-windfarms-submitted-last-year-in-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">related to the replacement of existing turbines or were for private sites, where the energy produced is destined for a particular consumer, such as a business</a>. 
The number was lower than the 10 applications submitted in 2022, when the de facto ban was still in place, despite the adjustments made to the National Planning Policy Framework in September 2023 which the government claimed would “make it easier and quicker for onshore wind projects to come forward, where there is local support”.  
<h3>Is it only England that&#8217;s falling behind? </h3>
In contrast to the lack of new applications in England, <a href="https://www.endsreport.com/article/1861845/no-new-plans-onshore-wind-england-despite-relaxed-rules%22%20/l%20%22:~:text=There%20were%20no%20new%20planning,onshore%20wind%2C%20new%20data%20shows." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scotland saw 46 applications made for grid- connected onshore wind farms last year</a> and has openly embraced the technology as part of its future energy mix. Through the <a href="https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/scotland-signs-deal-with-sector-to-ensure-it-can-reach-20gw-of-onshore-wind-by-2030-25-09-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal</a>, which was signed by the government and major industry players in September 2023, it has <a href="https://www.renewableuk.com/news/652133/Scottish-Onshore-Wind-Sector-Deal-can-provide-blueprint-for-all-of-UK.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlined a number of measures</a> to help ensure Scotland delivers on its promises of 20GW of onshore wind by 2030 &#8211; more than double its current operational capacity of 9.38GW.  
This includes: 
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">a commitment that it will take no longer than a year for Scottish onshore wind farms to go through the planning system, </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">engagement with local communities at the earliest opportunity to agree a package of community benefits, and </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">greater recycling of turbine components to make the supply chain even more sustainable.  </li>
</ul>
And if Scotland can do it, why can’t the rest of the UK follow suit? Especially when we know that people are not only in favour of onshore wind, but that the technology is instrumental in delivering cheaper, cleaner power to households still feeling the effects of the recent energy and cost of living crises. In fact, <a href="https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4112821/staggering-englands-onshore-wind-ban-costing-british-billpayers-gbp-1bn-research" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research by Carbon Brief</a> found that the de facto ban in England had cost billpayers a &#8220;staggering&#8221; £5.1 billion in 2022.  
“Onshore wind remains the cheapest source of clean energy in the UK and has already contributed to billions in savings for UK households. But England continues to miss out on tapping this valuable resource, while Scotland and the rest of Europe add large amounts of wind capacity every year.” –  <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/15/zero-plans-for-public-onshore-windfarms-submitted-last-year-in-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chaitanya Kumar, head of environment and green transition, New Economics Foundation thinktank</a> 
While the government’s micro-adjustments in policy have evidently had little effect, we were still waiting for the results of the government’s consultation into community benefit, launched in May 2023 as part of what was – at the time – dubbed “green day”. Now published, it sought “views on improvements that could be made to the existing system of community engagement and community benefits for onshore wind in England”, with 76 responses from a variety of stakeholders, including Thrive.  
<h3>What are the results of the government&#8217;s consultation? </h3>
Following the consultation, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/developing-local-partnerships-for-onshore-wind-in-england" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government has confirmed that it intends to</a>:  
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">Formally embed best practice principles of community engagement into official planning guidance. </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">Work with the onshore wind industry and other stakeholders to update the Community Benefits Protocol for Onshore Wind in England. </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Take ownership of the Community Benefits Protocol and publish it as official guidance on GOV.UK, providing the whole of the onshore wind industry with clear expectations on community benefits and giving greater certainty to communities. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Provide supporting information and case studies on community benefits to help upskill local communities and streamline the community benefits process, including setting out the instances in which developers could provide additional support to communities. </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Develop a mechanism for the onshore wind industry to formally sign-up and endorse the updated Protocol, which will provide greater trust and transparency for communities. </li>
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="4" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Consider establishing a public community benefits register that can capture details of community benefit packages, to allow communities to compare offers and drive best practice. </li>
</ul>
We absolutely agree that onshore wind projects should benefit local communities and will continue to work with community energy groups looking to make their projects a reality. However, the government needs to understand that communities will not get to reap any benefits at all if projects never make it into existence. The fact that there were no planning applications in 2023 is proof that developers are still struggling to justify the high cost of navigating the planning process, without clarity on the likelihood of success. We believe that significant reform is still needed if we are to harness wind power to its full potential. 
What we have, and will continue calling for, is for onshore wind to be treated in the same way as other infrastructure projects, as well as the removal of footnote 54 (which sets out the conditions that have to be met for development to be considered &#8216;acceptable) from the National Planning Policy Framework.

While onshore wind delivered almost a third of the UK’s electricity supply last year, England is still failing to harness its true power – despite government ‘reform’.

Proof is in the pudding? Zero planning applications for public onshore wind farms in England last year

Beochlich consists of two Pelton 21X2.45 turbines, fed via a pipeline which creates the pressure to drive the turbines most efficiently. A storage reservoir is incorporated which allows the flow to be regulated to an optimum level when rainfall is high as well as store water during periods of lower rainfall. Water diverted from the Beochlich Burn is returned to the same water course downstream. 
The project generates roughly 4.5GWh of renewable electricity a year – enough to power 1,126 UK homes. As well as being a key renewable energy source, the hydro project helps to regulate the water flow at Beochlich which is positive for plant health and irrigation purposes.

img_9991-1-2

IMG_9991 (1)

25 year life extension agreed for the 1MW project in Western Scotland.

Thrive's first hydro-electric project secures another 25 years of operation

<div class="cms rte js-cms-done">
The refinancing loan along with a loan from Energy Prospects Co-operative will enable community benefit society, Resilient Energy Forest of Dean (REFD), to retain ownership of the project. Energy4All, who currently manage 33 renewable energy co-operatives, will support REFD as the commercial manager of the project.
As well as providing clean electricity to the grid, funding from revenues generated will continue to support local community projects in the Forest of Dean. So far, a wide range of local community buildings and schools have benefitted as a result.
The addition of this project to Thrive’s portfolio brings the total we have invested in community projects to £17 million. It is the 6th community funding bridge we have facilitated, plugging funding gaps to enable community energy groups to build and operate their own clean energy projects. This includes providing a £4 million to fund the construction of England’s largest onshore wind turbine in Bristol, which is owned by a community group.
</div>

image-gallery-1

Working alongside Energy4All, Thrive’s investment will enable the project to remain in community hands.

£1 million investment into 1MW community-owned wind project in the West Country

We kicked off the insight day with a visit to our Avonmouth wind farm where the group were able to view the turbines up close and learn how they work. Adrian, our Head of Operations led the tour, explaining the processes and jobs involved in the operation of a 8.2MW wind project like this – from planning through to construction and maintenance.  There were some brilliant questions and discussions as the turbines worked hard in the background.  
Next it was back to the Thrive office, where Louise our Head of External Affairs delivered a short presentation on the renewable energy industry, Thrive’s impact and the diverse range of roles that exist within the sector.  
Over lunch, members of the Thrive team enjoyed chatting with the group to provide insight on their job roles and answer any questions about the day-to-day of working in renewables.  
For the final activity of the day, the group split into teams for a fun learning activity.  Each group was tasked with planning a new wind farm in metaphorical ‘Thriveshire’, taking into account various social, economic and environmental factors that go into the planning of clean energy projects. The teams presented their ideas to the wider group with some very impressive proposals and learnings from the day.

Having provided a grant last year to support one of Babbasa’s core services, it’s been fantastic to continue our partnership with an opportunity for some of their Young People to learn about careers in renewables. Thrive’s £1,000 grant will help Babbasa to continue offering its Support Programme that works with young people who are at risk or have dropped out of education or employment, who may be facing multiple barriers or challenges, or who are disadvantaged by their background.  
We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone from Babbasa who attended our insight day – we hope you found it inspiring!

20240130trbabbasaday-45-ar

20240130TRBabbasaDay-45 AR

We hosted an insight day for Babbasa’s Young People to learn about opportunities in renewables.

Shining a light on green careers for under-represented young people

This funding will help us deliver on our busy pipeline, which includes a portfolio of new clean energy developments through a £20 million investment in Ethical Power. We also plan to fund more ‘direct wire’ solar projects, giving UK businesses access to a direct supply of clean electricity, and support community energy groups in building their own clean energy projects locally – like our recent <a href="/latest-news/news/4-million-investment-into-community-group-attix-cic/">£4 million investment in Scottish community energy group</a>, ATTIX CIC.
Other recent development projects include providing £4 million funding to construct England’s largest onshore wind turbine, which is wholly community-owned, and a 20 MW battery in our home city of Bristol, plus a total of £6 million investment in United Downs – the UK’s first deep geothermal electricity generation plant in Cornwall, which is also set to provide commercial quantities of lithium for EV batteries.
This successful crowdfund comes as new Thrive research – conducted by Opinium, found that retail investors could unlock over £214 billion worth of investments needed to fund UK net zero infrastructure ambitions. Read more about the research <a href="/latest-news/news/the-214bn-impact-investment-opportunity-retail-investors-could-unlock-crucial-net-zero-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

thrive-renewables-2

Thrive Renewables

Thank you to everyone that is supporting Thrive’s mission to build a cleaner, fairer energy system here in the UK.

The future is green: £5.4 million raised to build new clean energy projects

Start with communities
We put people at the heart of the energy transition, ensuring the benefits of clean energy are kept local. The Ambition Community Energy wind turbine in Bristol – which we provided £4 million of investment into &#8211; is a great example of how local clean energy projects are already benefitting communities every day. As well as providing a new revenue stream to drive regeneration in Lawrence Weston, plans for an Energy Learning Zone will inspire young people and upskill residents to pursue green careers. Making the benefits of climate action directly relatable to our everyday lives also helps unite and inspire action.

Harness the power of together
We won’t tackle the climate emergency if we don’t work together. So we collaborate with individuals, businesses and communities to build the renewable assets that the UK needs, faster. As well as providing community funding bridges, we enter into co-investments and joint ventures with industry peers and help businesses decarbonise through on-site renewables. Today we unite a community of over 6,000 individuals, businesses, social enterprises and institutions all committed to making the switch from fossil fuels to renewables. Together we’ve generated over 2 million MWh of clean electricity and avoided the emission of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2e.
And let’s not forget the facts!
Against the noise, we remain focussed on action – last year acquiring the rights to our biggest project yet. UK fossil fuel generation reached its lowest quarterly share in a century in Q3 2024, while renewable energy hit record growth. Let’s not forget how far we’ve come from when renewables were the pursuits of a humble few in the 90s to becoming mainstream today – generating over 50% of Britain’s electricity last year. In 2024 we also said goodbye to the UK’s last coal fired power station – a huge milestone in the energy transition and poignant reminder that together we are making significant progress. So let’s keep it up, and support each other as we keep our eyes fixed on a cleaner, fairer future.

Newsletter CTA

chris-watt-photography_302

Chris Watt Photography_302

Staying positive and powerful against the new wave of climate denialism. 

(Climate) actions speak louder than words

It’s less “drill, baby, drill” and more mill, baby, mill! In fact, it’s got us thinking about how getting to net zero is not only about delivering new projects but making the most of those that already exist.
<h3>What is repowering?</h3>
Repowering is when an existing project – like an onshore wind turbine – is upgraded to make it more efficient and productive. It normally takes place once the turbine or wind farm has reached the end of its original design life (usually after 25-30 years) and, because of innovations in technology, often sees multiple smaller turbines replaced with fewer, larger – but more modern and powerful – machines.
This normally increases the site capacity, for example when Caton Moor wind farm was repowered back in 2006, we were able to increase the annual power yield seven-fold. Importantly, it also means that asset owners can streamline the process that comes with developing a new project as the existing site has already been proven to be suitable for wind, will continue to be used for the same activity and has been granted planning permission previously.
<h3>What are the benefits of repowering? </h3>
1. Makes the most of our available onshore wind and land resources and reduces waste
One of the first things we saw the new Government introduce last summer was updated targets for renewable energy development in the UK, including a goal of 30GW of onshore wind by 2030. While it’s important to recognise that yes, we do need to add new capacity – including onshore wind – to the grid, we can’t forget that there are a finite number of sites that will be suitable for these technologies. It makes exercises like repowering a vital part of the journey as the land has already been allocated and in a prime location that makes the most of the country’s abundant natural resources.
It&#8217;s also worth noting that repowering can be done in a conscious way to reduce waste as parts can be recycled or reused – like with Caton Moor, the turbines which were removed from the site were re-erected in Poland within weeks of their removal.
2. Continued access to clean, homegrown power 
Onshore wind is currently one of the cleanest, cheapest and quickest ways to generate electricity and is vital to improving our energy security – making sure the country is less exposed to the price volatility that comes with using fossil fuels. However, in its 2024 manifesto, RenewableUK estimated that by 2040 we are in danger of losing almost 9GW of onshore wind (compared to the current total capacity of 15GW) as it reaches the end of its life. By repowering these sites, we won’t lose important generating capacity at a critical time for both the UK and planet, helping to accelerate the transition at the pace and scale required for net zero.
3. Community benefit 
We know that the majority of communities are supportive of onshore wind. In fact, according to the government’s latest polling, 7 in 10 (78%) are supportive of the technology and recognise its role in lowering bills, improving energy security and tackling climate change.
Repowering gives host communities the opportunity to continue benefitting from onshore wind, whether it be through the creation of local green jobs or support for local initiatives via community benefit funds. For example, Thrive’s voluntary Community Benefit Programme makes energy efficiency grants available to community buildings close to our sites. Since 2016, we’ve awarded 70 grants totalling over £225,000, helping to make important local spaces warmer and cheaper to run.
<h3>What are the barriers we need to overcome?</h3>
It was positive to see that the Government will include UK repowering projects in the next round of its annual Contracts for Difference scheme, creating the opportunity for onshore wind farms to utilise finance when funding repowering.  Access to the CfD should accelerate the repowering process, making the investment decision to seamlessly progress from the maturing site to the repowered opportunity more straight forward.
But we still need to see continued support and even a clear planning presumption or incentive in favour of repowering – not just for onshore wind but other renewable technologies too. This will then help engage local authorities around what we do with aging infrastructure and empower them to deal with applications appropriately as part of their wider transition plans.
The other challenge is grid connection. Even if a project can be successfully repowered, due to the current grid constraints asset owners may not be able to access additional grid capacity that would allow them to increase the generation capability of the wind farm. It means that they’ll be capped at the original generating capacity whilst waiting for the queues for grid capacity to subside, meaning the UK may not be able to realise the full benefits of repowering until these issues have been solved.
Grid reform recently featured in the Government’s Clean Power Action Plan, citing that NESO and Ofgem will provide a framework through which NESO can work with Transmission Owners (TOs) and Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to prioritise the projects needed for 2030, as well as maintain a robust pipeline beyond 2030. As with other ongoing policy reform, we’ll be keeping an eye on how this unfolds and contribute to the appropriate public consultations what will hopefully help to accelerate our transition to a cleaner, fairer energy system in the UK.

chris-watt-photography_209

Chris Watt Photography_209

It’s not all about the new “stuff”, we also need to consider how to make the most of our aging projects if we’re to meet net zero. 

Mill, baby, mill – Repowering to net zero

✅  Commitment to speeding up grid connections for renewable projects that are ready to go
✅  Promises to build on existing approaches to community benefits within the onshore wind sector as part of a fair and inclusive energy transition.
✅  Streamlining the planning process for critical infrastructure and new projects

The changes in the Action Plan are broadly welcome, however the urgency of the situation must not be underestimated. Only recently, the National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) described the UK’s 2030 clean power target as “ambitious but achievable” if renewables are expanding swiftly and significantly – doubling onshore wind and tripling solar.
Whilst the government’s clean power plan shows promising steps towards accelerating large-scale renewables, it is in danger of overlooking the importance of small to medium sized, local projects. These are the projects that put local communities at the heart of the energy transition. Smaller projects can fit better into the local landscape and generate electricity closer to where it is used, potentially reducing the number of pylons needed nationally.
We also need to make the most of the clean energy capacity that is already available to us by repowering existing projects i.e. replacing older wind turbines with fewer, more modern and efficient ones. For example, the 150m Ambition Community Energy wind turbine that was part funded by Thrive and built in 2023 can generate more than double the power of each single 125m wind turbine at our neighbouring Avonmouth wind farm built in 2014.
As we head into the new year let’s work together to keep the momentum up and push for urgent change at national, regional and local level to accelerate the rollout of the much-needed renewables revolution.

Latest news

Find out more about our new projects, events and industry insight.

Featured

22 May 2025

Thrive announces £11.3 million operating profit for 2024 – with £20.6 million cash allocated to build new clean energy projects

07 May 2024

23 Apr 2024

18 Apr 2024

17 Apr 2024

12 Apr 2024

28 Mar 2024

25 Mar 2024

29 Feb 2024

15 Feb 2024

12 Feb 2024

09 Feb 2024

02 Feb 2024