We are what it says in our name – a co-operative.
Our guiding principles include commitments to transparency, honest dealing and a solid approach to helping get more solar on large rooftops across the UK. This means we happily work openly with community energy partners and share expertise across groups to empower others to work towards the same or similar goals. Read on to find out more about who we work closely with.
 | Belper Community Energy | A small but mighty group of Belper residents have become Volunteer Members with the Big Solar Co-op and are working hard to support their local community in the switch to a reliable supply of renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions and saving money. |
 | Derbyshire Dales Community Energy (DDCE) | Derbyshire Dales Community Energy (DDCE) first started working with the Big Solar Co-op after an RCEF funded project came to an end and they were wondering how to carry on the good work they had started in the Derbyshire Dales. They have been Community Energy Organisation of the Year (Small/Medium) award our the first solar installation together will be at Twiggs in Matlock in 2024. |
 | Regen | Regen is an independent, not-for-profit national centre of energy expertise and the Big Solar Co-op has provided mentoring through their ReWIRE programme to promote diversity in the sector. |
 | Meyer Burger | We have opted to use high quality, sustainably produced German-made Meyer Burger panels as they have the strongest environmental and human rights credentials of any solar panels on the UK market. |
 | Shropshire Council | Shropshire Council are the co-funders of an ongoing node of the Big Solar Co-op coordinated by Kevin Oubridge that covers the county of Shropshire. So far this collaboration has resulted in which resulted in XX sites being investigated for solar potential, XX solar array designs, XX commercial proposals and we hope to in stall on XX sites in the region in 2024. |
 | Shropshire & Telford Community Energy | Shropshire & Telford Community Energy (STCE)are the community counterpart for an ongoing node of the Big Solar Co-op coordinated by Kevin Oubridge and co-funded by Shropshire Council. So far this collaboration has resulted in which resulted in XX sites being investigated for solar potential, XX solar array designs, XX commercial proposals and we hope to install on XX sites in the region in 2024. |
| Co-operatives UK | ||
 | Charge My Street | Charge My Street are a community benefit society which installs and operates community EV chargepoints. We have worked together on co-proposals, lead sharing and are working towards co-installs where a site is suited to it using solar energy for EV charging. |
 | Community Energy England | The Big Solar Co-op are long time members of the practitioners membership body for the Community Energy sector – Community Energy England and active participants of the Ethical Sourcing Working Group. |
| Egni Co-op | Egni Co-op develops rooftop solar energy in Wales and has nearly 5 MWp of capacity on over 90 sites, including schools, community buildings and businesses. We continue to share leads with each other where one models fits a little better than the other and have regular catch ups on best practice. | |
| Sustainability West Midlands | ||
| Forest Community Energy | ||
| Solar for Schools | Solar for Schools empower the next generation to live more sustainably while helping schools decarbonise with solar energy. We continue to share leads with each other where one models fits a little better than the other and have regular catch ups on best practice. | |
 | Energy Sparks | |
  | AURORA | The Big Solar Co-op is working in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) and Forest of Dean District Council (FoDCC) on two solar projects that are central to the community in Lydney in the Forest of Dean. This work is funded by the AURORA project and is one of five local energy communities have been established in different locations across Europe. In addition to the solar installs and outreach work with the local community energy group a user-friendly mobile app is being developed to engage local residents as citizen researchers recording their monthly energy consumption. |
 | Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) | CSE is a charity supporting people and organisations across the UK to tackle the climate emergency. The Big Solar Co-op has worked with CSE on several projects including the Solar Wizard Calculator, 3D datahub and most recently the AURORA project with Forest Community Energy. |
 | Community Energy Birmingham | Community Energy Birmingham hosted the very first node of the Big Solar Co-op and continue to work closely with us on sites in the city. |
 | New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) | NMITE is the UK’s newest university and has independently built a pioneering educational experience from the ground up, specialising in tech’ and engineering. The Big Solar Co-op offers access to NMITE students to come and study the Big Solar Co-ops game changing approach to community solar and shares expertise on topics like the intricacies of connecting renewable systems to the grid. |
| Carbon Neutral Cambridge | Carbon Neutral Cambridge (CNC) is a not-for-profit, community based organisation that worked with the Big Solar Co-op to make the huge 556kWp install at Ecopak in Cambridgeshire happen. | |
 | Transition Stroud | Transition Stroud helped to set up a node of the Big Solar Co-op in Stroud which resulted in XX sites being investigated for solar potential, XX solar array designs and XX commercial proposals |
 | Wind & Sun |