New clean energy dawn: 70% of UK ready for community renewable ownership

A major leap forward sees four of the country’s biggest suppliers team up with Ripple Energy, meaning the community power pioneer’s partners now offer long term bill reductions to 7-in-10 British households.

British Gas, Ecotricity E.ON Next and EDF customers will all soon be eligible to get involved with the scheme. By owning a share in clean energy sources, those signed up will have savings directly applied to their household or business bills. 

The news significantly increases the reach of Ripple Energy partners, which had previously been limited to Octopus-powered Your Co-Op Energy and Unify Energy. Adding the next four suppliers, 70% of UK tenants and homeowners are covered by an associated supplier. 

‘Our mission has always been to make clean energy ownership available to everyone, everywhere. It shouldn’t matter whether you live close to a renewable energy site or not, live in a flat or a bungalow, own your home or rent it,’ said Sarah Merrick, Founder and CEO of Ripple Energy.’Collaborating with even more of the UK’s major energy suppliers will not only support that mission but demonstrate their dedication to sustainability and delivering value to their customers. Action to accelerate the UK’s transition to clean energy is more important than ever. Partnerships like these can play a crucial role in making renewable energy accessible to all.’

‘At E.ON Next, we know people want to get more from their energy and to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. Partnering with Ripple gives our customers even more easy ways to play their role in – and benefit from – everything and everyone being powered by sustainable energy,’ said Julian Lennertz, Chief Commercial Officer at E.ON Next. ‘Building cleaner sources of energy is in our DNA: we built our first wind farm more than 30 years ago, we were behind the UK’s very first offshore wind farm, and we’re now one of UK’s biggest installers of solar panels, EV chargers and heat pumps, helping our customers to generate their own clean, renewable energy.’

Ripple Energy already operates a number of UK sites, more are in development. These include Kirk Hill Wind Farm, Ayrshire, Scotland. The facility is the UK’s largest community wind farm, £2.8million of projected profits has been pledged to sustainability and environmental projects in the area, which does not effect bill subsidies and future payments to investors. A fourth location is now in the planning stage, and anyone eligible can now invest in what will be a 14 turbine wind farm at Whitelaw Brae in the Scottish Borders. 

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