Energy Local Bridport

The first Energy Local Club in England has started in Dorset.

Energy Local Bridport logo

Energy Local Clubs are a pioneering initiative developed by the not-for-profit organisation Energy Local CIC. Energy Local Clubs enable trading of renewable energy between generators and consumers at a local level.

The Bridport Club will initially allow householders in the Bridport area to purchase the electricity generated by the 50kW wind turbine at Salway Ash.  If the Club is successful, we have plans to extend the Club by adding PV generation into the mix in Phase 2.


Directors-at-Ashlane-2-CROPPED

Energy Local Bridport is live!

Energy Local Bridport went live in September 2021. The Club started with a ‘mini Club’ of 14 households, who became the first Energy Local Club in England to start operating.

We have been excited to see members matching their electricity use to the wind turbine generation and seeing savings in their energy bills. Now that the mini Club is working well, we are working to expand the Club to its full 55 households.

We are in the process of contacting all the households who have been waiting to join the Club. If you think you are due to join and haven’t heard anything, please get in touch.

It has taken us a long time to get to this point. The project was impacted heavily by COVID 19 and technical delays, so we are now very excited to see the Club starting to trade local renewable energy!


About the Bridport Club

Wind turbine blue sky clouds
50kW wind turbine at Salway Ash

Energy Local Clubs allow households to club together to show that they are using local renewable power when it is being generated, and to pay local generators a mutually beneficial price for that power. Read more about how it works in our Key Information Pack.

The generator for the Bridport Club is the 50kW wind turbine at Salway Ash, owned by Peter Bailey. Club members will pay a ‘match’ price for the wind energy when it is available. The ‘match’ price is cheaper than a normal electricity tariff but more than the generator would otherwise get, so everyone benefits.

Initially, the Club will have 50-60 member households. This number was arrived at after detailed modelling, and aims to strike a fair balance of financial benefits to participating households and healthy returns to the wind turbine.

The modelling suggests that each household will match approximately 10% of their electricity consumption with the wind generation, with an anticipated saving of 10-15% on their electricity bills over a year. Once the Club is operational, ongoing monitoring will assess actual benefits to members compare with those predicted.

The Bridport Club covers the geographical area supplied by the Bridport local substation. This incorporates the whole of Bridport town and the surrounding area from Chideock to Shipton Gorge, West Bay to Pymore and parts of Salway Ash. 

Further information

Get involved

The pilot Club is currently over-subscribed. However, by signing up below you can join the waiting list and receive notification when future Energy Local opportunities arise.

Frequently Asked Questions


Project history

Two community energy activists Bridport
Derek explaining Energy Local Bridport

Work on Energy Local Bridport began in December 2019, funded by development funding from the Power to Change Bright Ideas Fund. Since then Dorset Community Energy has been working closely with Peter Bailey and at Energy Local CIC to form the Club. This has included detailed modelling of the wind turbine output and domestic demand, creating the Energy Local Bridport Co-Operative and recruiting households from the Bridport area.

The public response to the launch of Energy Local in January 2020 was overwhelming. Within 6 weeks of launching, enough households had registered to form a Club, with a considerable waiting list. 

Unfortunately, setting up the Club had to pause when COVID-19 struck. Smart meter installations stopped during the first lockdown and there were delays while crucial software was developed.

By September 2021, a small pilot Club was up and running with 14 member households. Having ironed out some glitches we are now working to bring more households into the Club as swiftly as possible.


Future plans

Example of a 1-acre solar array as proposed in the Energy Local Bridport solar feasibility study
A 1-acre solar array

We think Energy Local Bridport represents a radical step forward local renewables.

If this pilot scheme is successful, we have options for expanding the project further. New generation could be added in a second phase.

Dorset Community Energy are exploring building a ground-mounted PV array, creating additional capacity to supply households or businesses with low-cost solar energy during the daytime.

Read about Phase 2