Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-op (BHESCo), members of Sussex Chamber of Commerce, was founded in 2012 by Kayla Ente with a mission to overcome the barriers that inhibit the uptake of energy saving and renewable energy technologies.

BHESCo designs cost-effective energy improvement plans for a property, and then provides the upfront financing to install the recommended technologies. Upfront costs are funded by BHESCo’s co-operative members who choose to invest their money in solutions to the climate crisis. Their investment is paid back by the customer over a number of years using savings achieved on monthly energy bills. In this way, BHESCo removes the technical and financial barriers that can stand in the way of property owners taking action on climate change. 

Utilising this innovative approach, BHESCo have completed 63 community-owned energy projects since 2015, which are estimated to save customers collectively £3.7 million on energy costs over 25 years, whilst reducing carbon emissions by 8,618 tonnes (the same emissions as 2,528 flights from London to New York). 

In the last 12 months, BHESCo have designed and developed rooftop solar projects on four schools in Brighton & Hove, delivering significant cost and carbon savings. Jane Paynter, Business Manager at Goldstone Primary School, said: “With school budgets under more strain than ever, it’s reassuring to know that in addition to the solar panels reducing our carbon footprint they will make us a considerable saving in energy costs.”BHESCo’s energy assessors help make homes in Sussex warmer, cheaper to heat, and more environmentally friendly by preparing energy savings plans to guide their energy efficiency investment plans. 

In October 2023, BHESCo launched a competition in Brighton & Hove to nominate a neighbourhood for a street-by-street climate action programme. The ‘4 Streets in Hove’ neighbourhood submitted the winning application. BHESCo have been working closely with them to survey homes, identifying appropriate retrofit measures. 

Starting in June 2024, BHESCo will project manage the installation of insulation measures on 100 homes, including solar power for 50 homes. This pioneering programme led Emma Bridge, CEO of Community Energy England, to say that BHESCo are considered the leader in community energy efficiency.

BHESCo is dedicated to helping people in fuel poverty, visiting nearly 300 homes in the last 12 months, supporting people to keep warm for less money by installing LED lights, draft excluders and secondary glazing. These interventions also contribute towards reducing Brighton & Hove’s carbon emissions.

In the Autumn of 2023, BHESCo were engaged by The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (an area comprising Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Telford & Wrekin) to develop a Local Area Energy Plan. This plan laid out a fully costed plan of action for the region to reach Net Zero by 2050, considering energy demand reduction, electrification of transport and heat, and the deployment of renewable energy. Not only was delivery of the LAEP a first for BHESCo, it was the first LAEP to be developed by a community energy organisation. The plan demonstrated how the energy transition from fossil fuels can also contribute to energy security, affordability and economic prosperity for the region.