As Community Energy Fortnight gets under way, we’re inviting businesses, charities and community buildings across Milton Keynes to generate their own clean power, cut their bills, and keep the benefit local, with no upfront cost.
This fortnight, communities across the UK are celebrating Community Energy Fortnight (1 – 14 July) and its national theme, Up The Energy, a campaign to show that community-owned energy is not a nice idea for the future but a practical solution already working today.
We can think of no better moment to share our latest exciting news…
We've Secured Green Business Funding
Milton Keynes Community Energy (MKCE) has secured support from Milton Keynes City Council’s Green Business Fund to launch Community Solar for MK Organisations, a new programme that brings community-owned rooftop solar to the city’s organisations.
It is open to Milton Keynes businesses, charities, community buildings, faith groups, sports clubs and public sector organisations alike.
A Simple Business Model
The idea is simple, we remove the two things that usually stop organisations going solar: cost and hassle.
MKCE funds, installs, owns and maintains the panels. Your organisation simply buys the solar electricity you consume at a low-cost price, capped each year for long term pricing stability. There is no capital outlay, and no responsibility for maintenance, insurance or equipment replacement.
You get the benefits of rooftop solar without the cost or the risk, and far greater certainty over your energy costs at a time when prices remain well above pre-2022 levels and exposed to volatile global markets.
Our Difference
Here is what makes community-owned solar different from simply paying to put panels on your roof:
MKCE is a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, owned by local people, and any surplus we make is reinvested here in Milton Keynes rather than distributed elsewhere.
That means your roof does more than power your own operations. It helps fund programmes like Home Energy MK, which keeps local households warmer and lowers their bills, whilst also supporting the city’s wider move to clean energy.
Organisations that take this step are doing something most do not: putting community benefit alongside their own savings. We think that makes them local champions, and we’d like to see many more championing our “green” city in future.
A Decade in the Making
This is not new ground for us. MKCE has been delivering community-owned renewable energy across Milton Keynes since 2015.
Our roots reach back to some of the city’s earliest community installations, including the rooftop solar at Camphill Communities MK and Stony Stratford Town Council and Library.
To date we have generated more than three million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity and saved over 975 tonnes of carbon emissions.
With our 1MW Solar for MK Schools programme bringing the same model to schools across the city, we’re excited to see the impact we can make together with local businesses, cahrities and community groups now too.
