Since 2013, Dorset Community Energy (DCE) has celebrated the power of people coming together to tackle the climate crisis from the ground up:
- Over 30 buildings powered by solar – schools, community centres and hospitals
- Saved over 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ (roughly equivalent to the emissions from driving a petrol car five million miles)
- Lowered bills, saving local communities over £950,000
- Raised over £1.1M through community share offers and raised a further £0.5 million in grants
- Installed 1.644MW of solar PV on Dorset schools and community buildings…enough to power over 550 UK homes annually.
- Reinvested almost £45,000 in local community, education and sustainability projects through our Community Fund
- We set up England’s first Energy Local Club – read more
How did we begin?
Dorset Community Energy (DCE) is a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. The Society was established in 2013, with support from the Big Lottery-funded ‘Communities Living Sustainably in Dorset’ project, to facilitate community ownership of renewable energy production.
DCE is one of over 400 community energy groups in the UK. These groups provide an opportunity for local investment, local income and local generation of renewable energy.
For over a decade we have been working to build local energy resilience in Dorset and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
DCE has over 200 members and is managed by a board of volunteer Non-Executive Directors. These members have invested over £1.1 million in DCE, which has financed the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on more than 30 schools, hospitals, arts centres and community buildings across Dorset, with a combined installed capacity of 1.64MW.
Electricity is provided to the community buildings at zero or low cost, any electricity not used on site is exported to the national electricity grid. Revenue is generated from the sale of electricity. The income covers the operational cost of the Society and provides a return on investment to member shareholders. Any surpluses we realise are put back into community projects via The Community Fund.
Our projects are technically robust, carefully managed and designed to perform over the long term. We draw on in-house engineering and project management expertise, and work with trusted local suppliers to ensure quality, reliability and value for money throughout the lifetime of each installation.
Alongside solar delivery, we have also led pioneering initiatives such as a 53 home micro-grid, England’s first Energy Local Club, and continue to develop county-wide retrofit and energy advice programmes.