This guide offers a framework to local officers and councillors on how to facilitate community-owned solar projects, by providing a set of editable resources that councils can use to kick off and expedite the process of adopting a supportive strategy, and to deal with the main legal and procurement-related barriers that are often raised.
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Smart Client
Provided by: Greater South East Net Zero Hub
Case for Action - Community solar on council assets
Decision Paper - Community solar on council assets
Motion - Community solar on council assets
Partnership Assessment Framework - Community solar on council assets
Strategy - Community solar on council assets
This Guide to Community Solar on Council Assets offers a framework to local officers and councillors on how to facilitate community-owned solar projects, by providing a set of editable resources that councils can use to kick off and expedite the process of adopting a supportive strategy, and to deal with the main legal and procurement-related barriers that are often raised.
The editable resources that accompany this guide include templates related to:
As well as the guide itself and the editable templates that come with it, below are a number of short videos, webinar presentations, and a council guide for community energy groups, which can help all parties involved to get an overall understanding of the community solar project and how the guide and its templates can be used.
In this montage, hear from Dr Rachel Coxcoon, Richard Lane, Amelia Kent, Tracey White, and Sara Earl as they discuss the following questions:
In this video, Kirsty Shanahan from Community Energy Pathways asks Dr Rachel Coxcoon from Climate Guide – the author of this guidance – the following questions:
Community Energy Pathways worked with Dr Rachel Coxcoon from Climate Guide to improve collaboration between community energy groups and local authorities by removing the blockers that can often hinder their partnership projects.
Held on 28 May 2026, this webinar aims to shine a light for community energy group members on how local government works, and explain how to work the system more efficiently to create mutually beneficial working partnerships in time to capitalise on GB Energy funding.
Held on 30 June 2026, this was the official launch webinar for the guide to community solar on council assets and how to overcome barriers to the creation of partnerships between local authorities and community energy groups.
As the author of the guide, Dr Rachel Coxcoon explains the reasoning behind focusing on solar PV on council assets; how to use the guide and its accompanying templates; and the frequent barriers to carrying out such community energy projects. Her presentation is then followed by a Q&A session.
This guide helps community energy groups work more effectively with local authorities by explaining how councils are structured, who makes decisions, and how community energy projects can secure support. It outlines the differences between council types, the implications of local government reorganisation, and the roles of key officers, cabinet members, and committees.
The guide stresses that successful projects require engagement with estates, legal, procurement and finance teams, as well as political backing. It encourages groups to seek formal council strategies and decision papers to embed community energy within council policy, helping projects progress and remain resilient to organisational and political change.
This guide provides practical support for local authorities seeking to enable community-owned solar projects on council buildings and land. It explains the benefits of community energy, outlines common barriers, and offers tools to help councils adopt a strategic approach to supporting community solar. These include decision-making templates, strategy documents, procurement guidance, and case studies.
The guide addresses concerns around leases, power purchase agreements, procurement regulations, and local government reorganisation. Through examples from councils such as Bath & North East Somerset, Plymouth, Barnsley, and North Lincolnshire, it demonstrates how council support can help community energy organisations grow, delivering local investment, lower energy costs, skills development, and wider community benefits.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © GSENZH. You may use this content (including commercially) under the Open Government Licence v3.0, provided you credit GSENZH and include the licence link.
Designed to aid Local Authorities in developing robust, evidence-based plans to enable Net Zero.
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