Selce - shining a light on people power
A group of residents came together with the shared vision of using "people power" to generate clean, affordable energy for their local communities. Camilla Berens, co-founder of Selce, tells the story as the co-op prepares to launch its fifth community share offer.
Most people are familiar with Gandhi’s famous quote: ‘Be the change you want to see’ and when it comes to combatting climate change, one local organisation has been punching above its weight.
Ten years ago, a small group of Lewisham and Greenwich residents came together with a shared vision of using ‘people power’ to increase the amount of clean, affordable energy being generated right here in South-East London. In a heavily-populated area like Lewisham and Greenwich, that means increasing the use of solar-powered electricity.
Since then, South-East London Community Energy (Selce) has installed more than £500,000-worth of solar panels 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 by harnessing local support through its ‘community share offers’. Essentially, this is a form of people-powered fundraising that benefits everyone who gets involved.
A model of people-powered fundraising
To begin with, Selce partners with a community group that has high energy bills but insufficient funds to buy its own solar power. After ensuring that the building in question is suitable for solar, the co-operative then asks the wider community to take part in a fundraising drive to buy the solar panels.
Any amount can be contributed to the fundraising pot from £250 upwards. The big difference between a ‘crowdfunder’ and a ‘community share offer’ is that the contributions made to Selce are returned to investors further down the line and every investor become members of the co-operative.
Once the solar panels are purchased, Selce installs them on the community building free of charge. It then takes on the role of solar energy provider but, by charging a much lower rate for the electricity than a commercial supplier, the co-operative helps the partner group to save money.
Savings for partners and dividends for 'community investors'
One of Selce’s first partners, the Horniman Primary School in Forest Hill, now saves around £9,000 annually in electricity costs. Mulgrave Primary School in nearby Woolwich saves around £3,000 per year. “Everyone has been affected by cuts in spending so this extra money helped fund resources that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to buy,” says former headteacher Dr David Dixon.
It gets better. With the money received from the solar projects, Selce can pay its ‘community investors’ an annual ‘thank you’. This comes in the form of dividend payment which is usually around 4% of the initial investment. Any surplus from the projects is used to support the co-operative’s essential work in helping vulnerable local people to avoid the fuel poverty dilemma of having to choose between heating and eating.
In the longer term, Selce commits to returning the initial contributions made by its community investors after a period of 20 years (although investments can be returned earlier if requested). So far, more than 250 people have become investor-members and the co-operative’s projects have made annual greenhouse gas savings equal to removing the emissions of 1,000 homes.
In the first few years of Selce’s life it was run entirely by volunteers. Today, it has grown into a professional team of energy advisors. Apart from its solar installations, Selce also provides half a dozen grant-funded programmes to help SE Londoners install their own solar or generally make their homes more energy efficient and cheaper to run.
"When we work together, we can reduce our carbon emissions and help our communities to reduce their energy bills"
The award-winning organisation is now gearing up for its fifth community share offer. “As individuals, it’s hard to know what we can do about climate change,” says Selce’s CEO, Giovanna Speciale.
"But Selce is showing that, when we work together, we can significantly reduce our carbon emissions and help our communities to reduce their energy bills.
Community share offers also give investors the feel-good factor of playing a key role in speeding up the UK’s energy transition to clean, affordable power for all.”
Selce’s website provides details about its upcoming share offer and how you can get involved. Selce’s regular newsletter also provides useful updates on investment opportunities, jobs, volunteering, government grants and practical help to insulate your home.
Camilla Berens is a co-founder and volunteer director at Selce.
