What is community energy?
CATSA is a community energy company. That means we are a local organisation which delivers projects to reduce energy demand and generate energy, within our local community.
Community energy is local, by definition – it’s about (relatively) small-scale projects owned by, or for the sole benefit of, local people and businesses.
You can find more information about what we are for on our About Us page, and see some of our current projects on our Projects page
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As you might have guessed from the definition above, community energy includes things like:
Most importantly, community energy projects of all types and sizes create value for the community. They might involve private or public sector partners, but their primary purpose is about creating value for local people, not profit for businesses. It is democratic, in that it is driven by the needs of the community as a whole, not the interests of one or a small number of people. It has a focus on being sustainable, because anything else would create value now at the expense of future generations.
Community Energy England, the voice of the community energy sector in England, has lots of inspiring examples of community energy projects from all over the country.
We are also connected to a regional network of innovative organisations, all working together to deliver community energy projects:
What does this mean for me?
Ultimately, it’s about saving money and ensuring energy security! Insulating domestic properties reduces energy bills, and energy generated from your home can either be stored for later use (i.e. solar energy generated during the day and used in the evening) or sold back to the grid.
The current government has set a goal to improve the rates paid to homeowners for these ‘input tariffs’.
Given current energy prices and uncertainty in international markets, the more energy we can generate within the UK, using sustainable sources, the more secure our energy supply. Between July and September 2024, 50.5% of electricity was generated from renewable sources (UK Government, December 2024). There is a target to increase this percentage in the coming years.
Getting involved with local renewable energy projects, or installing technologies like solar panels or a heat pump in your home, will also help to future-proof your energy use, as natural gas is gradually phased out over time.