FAQs

Established in 2010 by members of Transition Bath and Transition Corsham as a Community Benefit Society.

BWCE’s area of benefit covers Bath & North East Somerset plus bordering areas of West Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire.

Our democratic governance is centred on one member one vote regardless of the amount they have invested, so no individual or group of individuals has overall control of the Society. 

BWCE is run by a Board of Directors, elected from the membership with options to co-opt up to three further Directors who have specific skills (e.g. finance, legal).

Only our Managing Director is paid a salary with other Directors offering their services on a purely voluntary basis.

A community benefit society is an established legal structure favoured by social enterprises within the energy sector. It is attractive to ethical investors and protects the founding principles with an asset lock, ensuring that the business assets are only used in alignment with the community benefit objectives and not for private gain.

BWCE’s rules state that we aim to “carry out any business for the benefit of the community that involves promoting, facilitating, developing and running renewable and low carbon energy and energy efficiency projects in Bath and the surrounding areas”.

Our assets can never be cashed in by, or transferred to, private individuals or commercial interests without fair return, except where repaying share capital to members. While trading, assets must be used for community benefit and in the event of the Society being wound up, any proceeds would be used to repay creditors and then share capital to shareholders up to the value paid.  Any surplus above this amount would be gifted to another society or charity with an asset lock with similar objectives.

We are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our registration number is 30960R

Bath & West Community Energy is part of a UK community energy movement of over 500 organisations, BWCE is one of the largest and most established. More information about other community energy groups can be found at The Voice of the Community Energy Sector | Community Energy England

We do business differently to commercial operators, our rooftop solar schemes offer upfront capital, ongoing maintenance, cheaper electricity and carbon savings to building owners. When developing solar farms and wind projects we prioritise significant improvements in biodiversity, community amenities and access for residents. Plus we provide significantly more community benefit funding in proportion to generation installed.

Membership of BWCE is based on shareholding which is open to anyone aged 16 or over who supports the aim of the Society. Shares are valued at £1 each. Membership is secured through a minimum shareholding of £100. The maximum shareholding is £100,000 per member.

We pay our members interests on their shares, this is not a distribution of profits but is regarded by the Financial Conduct Authority (our registering body) as a cost on the business.

We have around 1,000 members, the majority are from the local area but we do also have national and international members. BWCE is run democratically. Members have one vote regardless of the number of shares they own. One Member – One Vote.

Membership is available when we have a share offer running - see our invest page

Not all investors are members, occasionally we run a Bond Offer, this is a different type of investment. Bond holders do not become members of BWCE and are not involved in the governance of the organisation or given voting rights at our AGM. This is sometimes more attractive to national investors who have less geographic links to the projects.

If investing is not an option but you would like to support Community Energy there are other ways in which you can help, by supporting our projects, championing community energy in your community, talking to friends, family, neighbours, colleagues about community energy, volunteering or joining our team. Follow us on social media or subscribe to our newsletter here to keep updated on the latest opportunities for getting involved.

We have set up an independent charity – The BWCE Fund – which recycles surplus income from energy generation to local community projects reducing carbon emissions and alleviating fuel poverty. For more information about the fund and the projects it has supported so far click here.