Community Energy
Greater Manchester
Supporting groups and communities to power our places
Find your people in community energy
Greater Manchester’s community energy network is a place for the people and organisations building locally owned, locally beneficial energy projects across the city region. Wherever you are up-to with your community energy project we have meet-ups, site visits, trainings, and a monthly round-up of opportunities, for anyone building or thinking about community energy across Greater Manchester. Free, and open to everyone.
What the network does
- Monthly meet-ups: informal social gatherings. Come and talk to people wrestling with the same planning rules, grid connection queues and challenges as you.
- Site visits: get inside real community energy projects. Hydro schemes, school solar arrays, retrofit demonstrations and more. Hear from the people who have delivered them, what went right, what went wrong and the lessons learned along the way.
- Trainings & learning sessions: practical sessions with guest speakers on the things people actually get stuck on. Legal structures, share offers, power agreements and governance.
- The monthly digest: a regular roundup with shared tools, templates, policy news, funding alerts and a way to connect to others.
Next meet-up: GB Energy Community Fund peer support webinar, Monday, 26 October, 6pm, online. Book a place
Join the network newsletter
Free information and updates. We’ll email you invitations to meet-ups, site visits and training, plus the monthly digest.
Is this for you?
You don’t need to be constituted, funded or technical. Turning up is enough.
- A group with an idea, a building or a bit of roof, and no clear next step
- An established community energy organisation in Greater Manchester
- A voluntary or community organisation looking at energy for the first time
- A community centre, faith group, school, or sports club with a site
- A council officer or housing provider who wants to work with the sector
- Anyone who wants to know what’s happening in community energy across Greater Manchester
What’s coming up
Fuelling Greater Manchester, the network’s social event, has run in one form or another for over a decade. We also host a range other events. Everything is free, and new groups are especially welcome: nobody will make you explain your legal structure.
Oct
26
Fuelling Greater Manchester · Peer Support
Peer Support Webinar
Hear from Carbon Co-op and Greater Manchester Community Renewables, pitch ideas for collaboration, ask questions about the grant making and delivery process. Book your place
Offers and asks
We can connect people and groups across Greater Manchester, with the skills and locations that they need. Let us know what you have or what you need, and we’ll introduce you to people nearby once both sides agree.
Got something to offer?
A roof, land, or a venue. Skills, time, or equipment. Experience of something other groups might be about to try, like a share offer or a grid application.
Looking for something?
A site, partner group, volunteers, a mentor, or someone who has done it before. If you’re not sure what you need, ask anyway.
How it works: notices appear in the digest and here for a few months, without contact details. Get in touch about one and we’ll make the introduction by email. If we know someone who might be able to help we’ll connect you right away. Not sure or need more infomation email us communityenergy@carbon.coop.
The evidence behind the network
In March 2026, Carbon Co-op and Regen published Building Community Power for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, on how the city region can meet its clean energy ambitions by working with community energy rather than around it.
Its first recommendation was a support and coordination network for community energy in Greater Manchester. It went on to recommend a matchmaking service. This is the first stage of implementing those recommendations. There were plenty of further recommendations in the report, and we hope to see them come to fruition soon.
Useful tools and links
The free tools and organisations we point groups to most often.
Getting started
- Map of community energy groups in England (Community Energy England)
- Case studies from community generators (Younity)
- Community energy handbook (Energy Cities)
- Support for co-operatives (Co-operatives UK)
Sizing up a site
- Rooftop solar estimate (Solar Wizard)
- Solar calculator (Energy Saving Trust)
- Solar design tool (OpenSolar)
- EPC data for buildings (GOV.UK)
- Community carbon calculator (Impact)
Support and evidence
- Free support for projects (North West Net Zero Hub)
- Insight and research (Regen)
- Net zero statistics (DESNZ)
- Seventh Carbon Budget analysis (Climate Change Committee)
Join the network
Meet-ups, site visits, training and the monthly digest, for groups and communities across Greater Manchester. Free, and open to everyone.