Who we are
Bath & West Community Energy is governed by an experienced and highly skilled board of directors that includes Non Executive Directors elected by the membership and BWCE’s Managing Director, Pete Capener who is a non-elected Executive Director. We also co-opt Directors onto the board to provide additional expertise (e.g. on financial and legal issues). The board is supported by a growing staff team, with further expertise being drawn in when needed.
BWCE Board
Rupert Atkinson
Position: Chair, Finance Sub: Coopted Member Director
Rupert is a finance professional and private investor in startup / scale-up technology companies – many of which are pioneering examples of the positive environmental change being initiated by the private sector. Rupert complements his investing activities with support for a number of university enterprise / entrepreneurship initiatives, including the Launch Lab of City University (Mentor, and member of the Advisory Board) and SETsquared Bath (Mentor)
Rupert Atkinson
Chair, Finance Sub: Coopted Member Director
Sonya Bedford
Position: Deputy Chair, BWCE Board: Coopted Member Director
Sonya is a Partner with Spencer West solicitors; a non-executive director at Regen; a director at Exeter Community Energy and South Dartmoor Community Energy and vice chair of Green Wedmore with 20 years’ experience of energy issues. Her strengths lie in dealing with all aspects of renewables development from feasibility through to construction and funding. Sonya has a particular expertise in accessing grid, development of alternative connections and licensed and local supply.
Sonya Bedford
Deputy Chair, BWCE Board: Coopted Member Director
Chris Crookall-Fallon
Position: Chair, BWCE Board: Elected Member Director
Chris is presently Head of Climate Action at a district council in Gloucestershire. Previously he’s worked for a specialist co-operatives and social enterprise business consultancy, run his own renewable energy consultancy business, and for many years worked in Corsham for a specialist climate, energy and sustainability consultancy which he helped to transfer into employee ownership. Chris was a member-elected director of BWCE early in the Society’s life
Chris Crookall-Fallon
Chair, BWCE Board: Elected Member Director
Pete Capener
Position: Managing Director
Peter is co-founder and Managing Director of Bath & West Community Energy, Deputy Chair of Community Energy England and a trustee of the Centre for Sustainable Energy. He is co-chair of the BEIS ministerial advisory group on community energy.
Peter has worked in the sustainable energy field and on community energy for over 35 years, having led the early development of the Centre for Sustainable Energy as Chief Executive, where he originally started in the mid eighties working with schools and communities. Since resigning from CSE in 2002 due to family illness, Peter has worked as an independent advisor on a range of energy efficiency, renewable energy and fuel poverty projects for various government, private and voluntary sector clients, with a strong focus on community action.
He has an MSc in Energy Resource Management.
Pete Capener
Managing Director
Louise Daniels
Position: Elected Member Director
Louise is Head of Communications and Marketing at Thrive Renewables, a renewable energy investment company which owns and operates a portfolio of onshore wind, hydro and battery storage projects across the UK. She is responsible for the company’s reputation and leads on communications with all stakeholders. Louise has been managing communications activity in renewables and not for profit sectors for more than ten years, including managing PR for Good Energy plc, the UK’s first dedicated 100% renewable electricity supply company.
Louise Daniels
Elected Member Director
Dr Dan Davies
Position: Elected Member Director
Dan has worked in the renewable energy sector for over 30 years. After completing his PhD in wind and solar technology he joined Halcrow’s energy team before helping to co-found Solarcentury where he was Chief Technology Officer. He set up Solarcentury Africa and built a team which delivered on grid and off grid hybrid power projects across the continent, and worked for SolarAid – a development charity supported by Solarcentury and other solar companies – helping them with product specifications and working with manufacturing partners in China.
Dr Dan Davies
Elected Member Director
Matt Harnack
Position: Elected Member Director
Matt provides strategic and operational management support to solar farm owners, asset managers and O&M providers through his business Harness Energy Consulting. His clients own, operate and develop around 5000MW of solar farms and battery storage facilities. Prior to consulting Matt was O&M Director at British Solar Renewables, held Interim Director positions within rooftop solar O&M and battery manufacture, has run Good Energy’s Feed-in Tariff payment business and was Associate Director at Ofgem where he ran the Renewables Obligation and set up the Feed-in Tariff scheme.
Matt Harnack
Elected Member Director
Fliss Jones
Position: Elected Member Director
Felicity (Fliss) is a partner at Everoze, a technical and commercial energy consultancy. She has a background in energy storage, flexibility and innovative business models. She brings a decade of experience in clean energy, including setting up Everoze’s battery storage business back in 2016. Felicity is a Trustee of the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) and is Director of LiveDiligence, a software-as-a-service business enabling radically better due diligence, to accelerate investment in renewables and storage.
Fliss Jones
Elected Member Director
Barney Rhys Jones
Position: Elected Member Director
Barney is the Asset Management Director for Octopus Renewables’ 1GW sSolar portfolio, having spent nearly 14 years in the clean tech sector. He previously worked as Portfolio Director at Oxford Capital, overseeing £350M of investments in solar, anaerobic digestion and grid response. Barney also worked in Telecoms before moving into the renewables sector with Low Carbon Investors and subsequently as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Good Energy PLC, the UK’s first dedicated 100% renewable electricity supplier.
Barney Rhys Jones
Elected Member Director
BWCE Staff
Catherine Adams
Position: Green Open Homes Engagement Coordinator
Catherine works with partners to organise Green Open Homes taking place in B&NES on the 4th and 5th of November. With a background in marketing, community engagement and business development specialising in engineering and the construction sector she has a keen interest in retrofit and the built environment. Experience to date includes working with the Cleveland Pools redevelopment project (Bath), being a regional leader for a marketing community, supporting built environment organisations with marketing and setting up a local canal-side tea shed.
Catherine Adams
Green Open Homes Engagement Coordinator
Eve Aston-Davies
Position: Renewable Energy Project Developer
Eve is a Renewable Energy Project Developer with BWCE and an Associate with the zero carbon consultancy, RenewEV. During her BSc Geography degree at university, she developed a love for geology, vegetation and sustainability, leading to her these roles where she develops community rooftop solar projects and advocates for onshore wind energy. Lastly, Eve has experience in project management and working in cross-cultural teams.
Eve Aston-Davies
Renewable Energy Project Developer
Nick Bird
Position: Community Engagement Manager
Nick manages BWCE’s community outreach and engagement work. He has over 30 years’ experience of managing community projects and events, promoting community engagement and delivering training. He has run community engagement projects in Wiltshire, London and Leeds, worked in a community arts centre and, in a voluntary capacity, helped to develop Larkhall Festival and Bath Co-operative Alliance. He has worked for Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation, Tenant Participation Advisory Service and London Voluntary Services Council.
Nick Bird
Community Engagement Manager
Pete Capener
Position: Managing Director
Peter is co-founder and Managing Director of Bath & West Community Energy, Deputy Chair of Community Energy England and a trustee of the Centre for Sustainable Energy. He is co-chair of the BEIS ministerial advisory group on community energy.
Peter has worked in the sustainable energy field and on community energy for over 35 years, having led the early development of the Centre for Sustainable Energy as Chief Executive, where he originally started in the mid eighties working with schools and communities. Since resigning from CSE in 2002 due to family illness, Peter has worked as an independent advisor on a range of energy efficiency, renewable energy and fuel poverty projects for various government, private and voluntary sector clients, with a strong focus on community action.
He has an MSc in Energy Resource Management.
Pete Capener
Managing Director
Steve Cross
Position: Flex Community Support Officer
Steve is responsible for mapping domestic rooftop solar installations in Bath and Shepton Mallet onto grid network maps to identify potential participants for our Flex Community Peer-to-Peer trading trial. His previous work in the Speciality Chemical Industry helped Aylesford Paper Mill in Kent to become the first major UK Newsprint Manufacturer to use 100% Recycled Paper and he also had a small part to play in the development of Quorn. Steve is a BWCE member and is involved in Go Green Widcombe, especially their group-buy solar scheme.
Steve Cross
Flex Community Support Officer
Cathy Crozier-Cole
Position: Retrofit Service Manager
Cathy is taking a lead on the development of BWCE’s new home energy retrofit service. Cathy has worked in sustainable energy for over 20 years and brings a wealth of expertise on home energy efficiency, having advised government, housing associations, local authorities, builders and householders on low energy retrofit policy and practice. She’s worked as a home energy surveyor with Parity Projects and the SuperHomes Network, and locally she co-founded Bath Green Homes to showcase energy efficient homes.
Cathy Crozier-Cole
Retrofit Service Manager
Dinah Darby
Position: Events & Networking Coordinator
Dinah is responsible for developing BWCE’s programme of events and outreach/networking activities. Dinah has a wealth of experience in administration and events coordination having worked in both the education and charity sectors for over thirty years, most recently for the Life Project in Bath and before that at the University of Bath.
Dinah Darby
Events & Networking Coordinator
Sara Grimes
Position: Head of Community Business Development
Sara is taking a lead on BWCE’s new business development with an early focus on home energy efficiency. She worked in local government for 13 years on climate initiatives, including the Cooperation Agreement between BWCE and B&NES Council and planning policies on renewable energy and net zero buildings. Prior to this, she worked in the USA as a community organiser and as regional director of an environmental and consumer advocacy group. She is chair of Transition Bath, a charity that harnesses the power of community to address the climate crisis.
Sara Grimes
Head of Community Business Development
Joe Hurley
Position: Renewable Energy Project Developer
Joe is responsible for developing BWCE’s rooftop solar projects in collaboration with John Rawlins. He has 15 years’ experience working on large EPC projects, leading procurement teams and expediting complex projects through to timely completion, all underpinned by a BEng Hons in Computer Aided Engineering. After volunteering with BWCE’s rooftop solar program for 6 months he took on a more permanent position with RenewEV, where he continues to support BWCE’s rooftop solar offer
Joe Hurley
Renewable Energy Project Developer
Alex Jones
Position: Operations Manager
Alex has a decade of operations experience, and has managed complex projects for charitable and commercial organisations. Her background is in education, and she has worked in partnership with universities, embassies and cultural organisations to deliver academic courses in Latin America which explore the social impact of the conflict in Colombia and the recent peace process there. As well as a first class history degree from University of Bristol, Alex has also trained in data law, policy and regulation at LSE.
She currently serves as Non-Executive Director at One Housing Group, a G15 Housing Association with a strong social purpose and over 35,000 residents, and as a Trustee at Children Change Colombia, a charity that defends the rights of children through community-led programmes.
For BWCE, Alex will be helping us strengthen the operational systems and processes needed for this growing organisation.
Alex Jones
Operations Manager
Alex Lockton
Position: Renewable Energy Development Co-ordinator
Alex leads BWCE’s asset development team and provides supply chain and technical support to BWCE’s innovation project, Flex Community. He has wide experience of developing new projects including renewable energy and low carbon technologies as well as strategic consultancy. He has worked in the renewable energy industry for 14 years, owning and running businesses which design, install and operate all forms of renewable energy including Solar, Wind, Biomass, Heat Pumps. With John Rawlins, Alex has set up the zero carbon consultancy RenewEV.
Alex Lockton
Renewable Energy Development Co-ordinator
Jonathan Logsdon
Position: Retrofit Coordinator
Jonny is the technical lead on our grant-funded Green Heritage homes project. As Retrofit Coordinator he will be providing oversight and advice on selecting and implementing energy efficiency measures to improve the comfort, performance and resilience of existing homes, including listed & historic buildings.
He has over 20 years’ experience as an architect, and has run his own practice for 17 years. He is a certified passive house designer and qualified PAS 2035 retrofit coordinator. He has experience of working on new-build, retrofit and historic buildings of varying scale and complexity. He has worked on an extensive range of building types from homes, community centres, schools, offices, and commercial premises. Alongside the delivery of low-energy projects, he has hands-on experience of retrofit and self-build projects. His home and office featured in Bath Green Homes of 2013 as an example of simple measures taken to improve comfort and reduce energy need without compromising the feel or look of the spaces.
Jonathan Logsdon
Retrofit Coordinator
Julia O’Connor
Position: Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Julia is responsible for overseeing the internal and external communications across the organisation. She brings over 20 years experience of working in Marketing Communications both in the private sector, but more predominantly within charity and not for profit organisations. She has worked for national charities such as RNIB, Penny Brohn Cancer Care, as well as Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling and Places for People Leisure.
Julia O’Connor
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Nicola Passam
Position: Green Open Homes Project Manager
Nicola is the new event manager on the 2023 Open Homes project. She has been freelancing in Bath and Bristol for over 2 years and is delighted to be joining the BWCE team to deliver this inspiring initiative.
Prior to working in Bath, she worked in charity sector delivering large scale events, which included fundraising dinner, celebration events and high profile speaking evenings. Through the 9 years in working in events her highlights include delivering ‘an evening with President Bill Clinton’, running an event at British Museum in London, launching the Bath Digital Festival in the Roman Baths and being a part of the first ever wellbeing festival– reBalance Bath.
Nicola Passam
Green Open Homes Project Manager
John Rawlins
Position: Renewable Energy Project Developer - Lead Rooftop Solar
John is responsible for developing BWCE’s rooftop solar projects, in collaboration with Joe Hurley. He has worked for a variety of well known companies, completing training as a Chartered Management Accountant and then an Executive MBA at the University of Bath and was awarded 1st Prize in a cross-discipline renewable energy project by the Royal Academy of Engineering.. More recently he has spent 2 years as the Chief of Staff to the CEO of a FTSE 250 energy retailer. He is a partner with Alex Lockton in their zero carbon consultancy RenewEV.
John Rawlins
Renewable Energy Project Developer - Lead Rooftop Solar
Benny Talbot
Position: Technical Lead, Community Business Development
Benny is responsible for exploring and developing new areas of work for BWCE, and providing technical support to ongoing projects. Having recently returned to the area after 10 years working on community led energy innovation in Scotland, his previous experience includes work on flexibility services, local energy supply, low carbon transport, hydrogen electrolysis, and the education and capacity building required to enable communities to engage with these emerging technologies. He has worked for Community Energy Scotland, Skill Share Dundee, Demand Energy Equality, and SP Energy Networks.
Benny Talbot
Technical Lead, Community Business Development
Alison Turnbull
Position: Innovation Projects Co-ordinator
Alison manages BWCE’s innovation projects, with a current focus on Flex Community. She has worked in the renewable energy industry for 20 years at AEA Technology and at ESD as a renewable energy consultant. She has worked on the development of small-scale PV community schemes with BWCE, CoCoEnergy and Frome Renewable Energy Co, where she is on the Board and she managed BWCE’s first demand management programme, Empower.
Alison Turnbull
Innovation Projects Co-ordinator
Operational Partners

Bright Renewables are a community owned asset manager with 83MW of renewable electricity capacity under management. BWCE are one of Bright Renewables founding members and owners.
Bright Renewables manage BWCE’s renewable energy projects.

RenewEV is a zero carbon consultancy set up by Alex Lockton and John Rawlins, members of BWCE’s team. RenewEV is committed to the development of community energy projects and donates 5% of its profits to BWCE.
RenewEV provides BWCE with renewable energy project development services.

External services provides specialist support services to a number of sectors including the renewable energy sector.
External Services provides BWCE with accounting, payroll and HR support.

Neville Registrars provide share registration services for a wide range of clients.
Neville Registrars manage BWCE’s share register and bond register for all bonds issued in 2016.

Ethex provide an online marketplace for positive investment and specialise in community offers. BWCE has run multiple fundraises through Ethex in the past.
Currently Ethex is managing BWCE’s bond register for all bonds issued in 2017.