Solar

Community-owned Solar

Want people-powered renewable energy for your building? Get in touch!

We are looking for non-domestic buildings in and around Norwich to be part of our first community-owned solar project! If your roof is suitable, we’ll install the panels and take care of all the maintenance, and you’ll save money on your electricity bills. We’ll raise the money through a community share offer so local people can invest in clean energy for Norwich – and best of all, any surplus will go back into community projects to help people save energy and go green.

If your organisation:

  • spends more than £10,000 a year on electricity
  • owns your own building (ideally)
  • has an uncluttered roof in good condition (or where repairs are already planned)

please get in touch, either by email info@ourpower.org.uk or phone 01603 244966, and we will check to see if your building could be suitable for community-owned solar power. We work mainly within a 7-mile radius of Norwich but will consider sites that are further afield.

How it works

  • We assess your site and your electricity usage data and tell you what we can offer.
  • You give us the go-ahead to survey the site, design the system and obtain the necessary permissions.
  • We raise the money through a community share offer which anyone can invest in.
  • We arrange the installation and take care of future maintenance.
  • Everybody wins:

    You benefit from lower cost, green electricity

    Our investors earn interest while supporting Norfolk’s transition to green energy

    Any profits support local action to help others save energy and go green.

Meet the Solar Group

John Moore

After an early career in automotive R&D, John moved in to developing small wind turbines 15 years ago and installed over 600 systems before moving into solar and battery storage development. He now works as a technical consultant, mainly supporting community energy organisations, in designing and assessing the feasibility of generation and clean heat schemes.

Livvy Hanks

Executive Director

Livvy has previously worked as a political advisor and climate campaign manager, and also has a background in editorial work. She is a founding member of Our Power and a member of Norwich Climate Commission.

Paul Neale

Paul spent many years in refurbishing commercial leisure business premises across the UK and Europe, including running a property design and management business in Greece. Since returning to the UK, he has been a Green Party Councillor, actively involved in council eco-social housing and personal home retrofitting.

He joined Our Power as he felt a need for not-for-profit organisations and councils to push forward faster with retrofitting and community energy.

Andy Bodycombe

Energy Advice Coordinator

Andy has been active in the UK building integrated solar market since 1997. His experience in environmental education in the UK (Solar For Schools and EcoACTIVE) and Africa (SolarAid) has drawn him to the community-focused work of Our Power. He's passionate about sustainability, low energy buildings and the role that energy efficiency and renewable energy can play in addressing the climate and ecological crisis.

Nigel Hargreaves

Nigel is passionate about energy conservation and solar power. He is an engineer with a background in consultancy for decarbonising local energy systems, climate change and sustainability. He has worked with National Grid, the Energy Systems Catapult and Cornwall Insight as well as run his own consultancy (Synfo) for over ten years. Nigel chaired Norwich Community Solar, Norwich’s first community energy group and advised government (DESNZ) on community energy through their community energy panel (CECG). Nigel carried out the technical feasibility study for the Norwich Solar System, a project initiated by Norwich Business Improvement District and subsequently advised Consensus Power Ltd. who took over its implementation.

In his spare time Nigel likes bikepacking and hiking.

Hannah Watson Emmrich

Hannah is a founding member of Our Power, helping to establish the organisation during her term as Norwich Climate Commissioner. Professionally she works as a musician, combining freelance classical piano playing with church and community music directing, and she is particularly interested in the ways that faith, arts and community groups can work together practically on decarbonisation and environmental projects.

Recent musical projects with environmental themes include the solo album Notes from the Undergrowth and large-scale choral recording Eden. She moved to Norwich in 2021 after a 3-year stint in Nairobi, and has benefitted from the expertise of other Our Power members and energy champions in retrofitting her own terrace - gaining first-hand experience of the importance of peer-to-peer advice and support. She is now part of the team of Our Power heat pump buddies.

Stephen Ramm

Lara Lewington

Mariyana Blazer

Mariyana is an accountant with more than 20 years’ experience, primarily in NHS finance. Her interest in clean energy is also personal and she has transformed her own home with solar panels, battery storage, an air source heat pump and an EV charger, giving her first-hand experience of the benefits and practicalities of low-carbon living. She believes community energy has a vital role to play in tackling climate change, reducing energy bills and giving local people a greater stake in a cleaner, more sustainable future.