We have recently signed a contract with Reading Buses to install and run a huge array of solar panels on the roof of their depot on Great Knollys Street.  The roof’s size allows for enough panels to provide 271 kWp which, once installed, will be 4 times bigger than our current largest install (on the University of Reading School of Art building) and increase the total capacity of all our sites by around 50%! The new array running for just…

We are delighted to welcome 73 new members to Reading Community Energy Society. These latest investors financed, along with many existing members, our recent successful share offer which raised nearly £100,000. The share offer raised funds for a new solar installation on the University of Reading’s new School of Art building. This solar array has already generated around 37,000 kWh electricity – the equivalent of 14 homes’ annual electricity usage. Our new investors bring the total membership of Reading Community Energy…

Reading Community Energy Society has launched an exciting new limited-time Share Offer, giving residents a chance to sustainably invest in local renewable energy projects.  The Share Offer aims to raise nearly £100,000 to help fund a new solar array on a Reading University building.  Investors will not only be funding solar panels on Reading rooftops, but also getting projected returns on their investment. We expect investors should receive interest targeted to be 4% per year for the first three years,…

Reading Community Energy Society is delighted to announce the installation of a solar array on the roof of the new School of Art building at Reading University. The array has a peak power of 73 kWp which, when working at full capacity for just 1 hour, will produce enough electricity to power a typical UK home for 9 days. The new installation boosts Reading Community Energy Society’s total solar capacity on roofs across Reading by more than 10%, to over…

Reading School has benefitted from a series of grant-funded interactive workshops imagining sustainable futures. In the workshops, led by local Social Enterprise Design Nature, pupils explored the potential for more renewable energy in the future and devised Action Plans as to how to get there. The workshops focussed on design challenges and innovations, allowing students to get creative in thinking about sustainable futures in their school and wider communities. Topics explored included waste management, food production, transport, renewable energy solutions,…

A ranking of the solar energy capacity of councils in England, Wales and Scotland puts Reading borough in the top 20% of council areas. The analysis, which uses government data published this autumn by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, puts our solar energy capacity in 70th place out of 363 councils, with an installed capacity of 1.84 kilowatts/hectare. To take the top spot, Reading would have to increase capacity more than four fold to beat the current leader,…

Would you like low cost energy from a renewable source installed for free right on your roof?  Reading Community Energy Society is actively looking to expand our portfolio of buildings on which we install solar panels for free. With rising energy prices and businesses being squeezed by increasing costs, many of us are looking to renewable energy generation for solutions. Reading Community Energy Society provides and installs solar panels on roofs around Reading at no cost to the building owner. …

Reading Community Energy Society (RCES) will say goodbye to our founding Chair, Tony Hoskins, and we welcome Tony Cowling, who will take up the position later this year. Tony Hoskins has chaired the society since its inception 6 years ago, helping it get off the ground and flourish into the success it is today. Reading Community Energy Society was a new concept at its inception, and one initial challenge Tony Hoskins faced was evaluating the best benefits that the society…

Reading Community Energy Society (RCES) has recently awarded a grant to fund a vegetable growing project at Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre in Emmer Green. The school used the grant of £500 to purchase vegetable planters in a project spearheaded by Year 8 student Callum Potter. Callum and the Estate Staff built trugs and planted vegetables in them including lettuce and leeks, as well as mint, oregano and sage. The produce is now being used in the school kitchens…

True Food Co-op in Emmer Green has slashed the amount of electricity used for lighting their shop by 65% after upgrading to LED lighting. The not-for profit community shop received a grant from Reading Community Energy Society to help undertake the project, completed in August 2021, and they haven’t looked back. Chair of True Food Co-op, Francis Jakeman, said: “We have been delighted with the new LED lighting as it is so much brighter than before. There are no more dark corners…