This piece was written by Selce co-founder Camilla Berens, and originally published in SE Magazines’ September issue.

Eleven years ago, a dozen residents came together with a shared vision of using ‘people power’ to increase the amount of clean, affordable solar power being generated on local rooftops. 

Today, South East London Community Energy (Selce) has installed more than £500,000-worth of solar arrays on community buildings, including seven primary schools and a church. 

The not-for-profit co-operative has been able raise funds for its solar projects through ‘community share offers’. Essentially, this is a form of fundraising which benefits everyone who gets involved.

To begin with, Selce teams up with a community organisation that has high energy bills but insufficient funds to buy its own low-cost solar electricity.

After ensuring that the building in question is suitable for solar, Selce asks the wider community to take part in a special kind of fundraising to buy the solar panels. Any amount from £250 upwards can be contributed and there are several rewards.

Once the solar panels are purchased, Selce installs them on the community building free of charge.

The co-operative then takes on the role of the solar energy provider but, by charging a much lower rate for the solar electricity than a commercial supplier, Selce helps the partner community to save money. 

Recently, Selce has also installed low-cost LED lighting in several local schools.

Horniman Primary School in Forest Hill, now saves around £9,000 annually in electricity costs. Edmund Waller Primary is saving a total of £20,000 through more energy efficient, LED lighting.

With the money received from the solar projects, Selce is able pay its ‘community investors’ an annual dividend which is usually around 4% of their initial investment. Every investor also becomes a member of the co-operative.

Even better, every initial investment is repaid after an agreed period of time.

Any surplus from Selce’s solar projects is used to support the co-operative’s work in helping vulnerable households avoid fuel poverty. 

Selce also provides half a dozen grant-funded programmes to help SE Londoners install their own solar panels or make their homes more energy efficient. In total, Selce has saved households £1.3million over the past decade.

The award-winning organisation has just launched its fourth solar community share offer and is looking forward to welcoming new investor-members.

The co-operative’s regular newsletter also covers many useful topics including investment opportunities, jobs, volunteering and practical help to insulate your home.

Read the full share offer document here & apply.