Forest Community Energy

Season's Greetings!

We wish all our members, volunteers, supporters, and advisors a very Happy Christmas! It has been a fantastic year for Forest Community Energy. We are grateful for all the work, encouragement, and support we have had over these last twelve months. Here are a few of the highlights: Becoming a

Our new professional advisor

We are delighted to share that, following the completion of the AURORA Project, Emma-Jayne Williams is continuing to work at Forest of Dean District Council in the Climate Team, taking on a new role as "Energy and Climate Engagement Officer". Emma-Jayne will be continuing to provide guidance, support

Important reminder

From January 2026 our monthly newsletter will only be sent from our new newsletter provider, Ghost. The old AURORA newsletter based on Mailchimp will be retired. If you have not yet signed up to receive regular news, updates, and event invitations, you can do that here. Here's a

Helping to create a 'Theory of Change'

Forest Community Energy recently had a great time at the Forest of Dean Climate Action Partnership (FODCAP)’s recent Theory of Change Workshop at the wonderful Dean Heritage Centre — a full day of ideas, discussions, and planning for the future, with representatives from Forest Voluntary Action Forum (FVAF), Forest of

An Excellent Event

Our drop-in afternoon at the Main Place was buzzing! There was real community feeling as people mingled, checked out our smart-home tech displays, discussed solar diverters with Gwent Energy CIC, found out about energy-saving measures and grants with Severn Wye and Evolve Home Energy Solutions, tried out thermal imaging cameras

Lydney Rugby Club event

We went to a lively event at Lydney Rugby Club where many of the sports clubs from the Forest gathered together. There was a great discussion about the challenges sports clubs face, including rising energy costs and extreme weather conditions. We also heard from Dursley Rugby Football Club who told

Rural Climathon Toolkit launch

We were invited by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) to present an overview of FCE at the launch event for the Rural Climathon toolkit (the culmination of 3 years’ work adapting and refining Climate KIC's Climathon method for rural communities). The toolkit is a free, practical

Celebrating the end of AURORA

We came together to celebrate the AURORA project and to express our thanks to Emma-Jayne, Amy and (in absentia) Megan, for all their work and support for Forest Community Energy over the past three years. Ending on 30th November 2025, AURORA was an EU Horizon 2020 funded project delivered by

Membership launch day!

We are delighted to launch our membership opportunity! Are you interested in getting involved? You can sign up to become a member for just £1. We are owned and governed by our members, which means everyone has a voice. Decisions are made collectively, and profits will be reinvested into local

Welcome to our new website!

Grab a cuppa and take a look around. ... * Have a look at our video * Get to know us a little * Learn about our Sling Community Hub project * Find out about Membership - a bargain at just £1! * Read about community ownership of a new solar farm * Discover why we are

It's all about the draughts...

Thank you Centre for Sustainable Energy for an insightful and engaging training session yesterday - "Understanding Retrofit". It was: -    well structured and covered the topic to a sufficiently detailed level...but not too detailed for the audience. -    interesting - many attending knew of some elements of

Lightwood Solar Farm

In May 2025 six FCE members attended the public consultation at Awre Parish Hall and met the Eden Renewables team.  It was a great opportunity to see the plans in detail and to ask questions about the proposed Lightwood Solar Farm.  We were very impressed by the expertise and attention

Forest Showcase Food Festival

It was a great day at the Forest Showcase Food Festival on Sunday 5th October 2025. We talked to lots of people about community energy projects and home energy savings. We enjoyed the fantastic local food and drink stalls, and the excellent cookery demonstrations. In the "Warm Homes for

We are celebrating!

We are delighted to announce that on 1st October 2025 Forest Community Energy CBS Ltd officially became a Community Benefit Society, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  Registration number: 9620. This is a great milestone and will allow us to set up a bank account and apply for grants

Free Drop-in Afternoon

Date and Time: Saturday 25th October 2025 2-4pm Location: The Main Place Coleford, GL16 8RH Would you like to learn how to make your home warm, comfortable and more energy efficient?  Come and join us for a fun and informative event to learn all about using thermal imaging cameras and

Future Energy Landscapes

Forest Community Energy is supporting a series of three Future Energy Landscapes workshops with Forest of Dean Climate Action Partnership (FODCAP) and Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). The first was in Westbury-on-Severn and Blaisdon, to be followed by Tidenham, and Dymock. An exciting workshop focused on how we can power

Our Re-branding Project

We ran a brand re-fresh project over two months, gathering feedback and ideas from our members. This was a brilliant collaborative process, creating the Design Brief, two rounds of feedback, choosing the tag-line and presenting the final logo! Lovely work by our local designer Aline Jeffrey. A combination of traditional

FCE Task Group Progress

The FCE Task Group has started the registration process for Forest Community Energy to become a Community Benefit Society (CBS).  This legal status will enable us to grow and achieve more local community energy projects, helping both people and the environment. We will be registered with the FCA (Financial Conduct

Octopus Energy Tech Summit

Helen Jeffrey, Forest Community Energy chair and AURORA Ambassador, had the chance to attend Octopus Energy’s annual Tech Summit in London. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about tech advancements in the energy sector and bring ideas to the energy community in the Forest of Dean. "The

Sling Community Hub Project

We are delighted to report that the Sling Community Hub solar and battery system is live!  It has been generating electricity since 20th June 2025 and in the first three weeks 80% of the Hub's electricity was provided by the sun! Thirty-nine solar photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed

Thermal imaging loan service rolled out in the Forest of Dean!

We’ve been chatting with Forest of Dean District Council (FoDDC)’s Retrofit Engagement Officer, Sam Clarke, who has been rolling the scheme out across the district. Here is what he has said about the rollout: What has been the impact of the scheme so far? Receiving thirty thermal imaging

Task Group Is Go!

Yesterday the Task Group had a very productive session. Emma-Jayne kindly hosted us at the Forest of Dean Council offices in Coleford, with secure wifi and a private meeting space. We set-up, logged-in, emailed, drafted posts and published a newsletter. The new web domain www.forestcommunityenergy.org.uk forwards to

Forest Community Energy is launched!

In March 2025 Forest Community Energy transitioned from being managed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy, to become a self-organising group, with a refreshed purpose and focus. Key areas identified for future foucus included community solar, and helping residents reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Chair, Helen Jeffrey said "

November Newsletter

Our new website is live! A big step forward. Explore, read the latest news, and let us know what you think.... If you have any news, ideas or suggestions for the website do let us know. Celebrating the end of the AURORA project The AURORA project officially ends on 30th

Featured

Energy in the Forest

Many thanks to the Climate Centre UK for the lovely video they made during the Octopus Energy visit to the Forest of Dean. The day included a tour looking at the challenges and opportunities for cleaner energy here in the Forest. Our visitors from Octopus Energy joined us during our