Decision details

To agree that the Council enters into a renewed Cooperation Agreement with Keynsham Community Energy for five years, from 2025 to 2030.

The Keynsham Community Energy Cooperation Agreement renewal is part of the Council’s strategic response to climate change. It will facilitate the Council’s commitment in the Climate Emergency Strategy to provide the leadership to reduce carbon emissions across BANES to net zero by 2030, and to meet the Council’s target to facilitate 100MW of renewable energy in BANES by 2027.

(1)  The Council has its own rooftop solar programme and has delivered may projects itself where the energy cost saving can be used to repay the upfront investment. However, where there is an opportunity to support community ownership and partnership with local communities, the Council will consider this.

(2)  Working with commercial companies to deliver similar projects: In this case the profits from energy projects are not reinvested locally, creating less value for the area. The social benefits of local ownership of energy, community involvement in projects and the development of a local low carbon supply chain would not be as fully realised.

(3)  Working with organisations that are similar to Keynsham Community Energy (KCE).  We have not found any other local organisations who can provide the same benefits as KCE in the Keynsham area, of being non-profit, reinvesting revenues into a community fund and being owned by local people via community share offers.

(4)  The only organisation that could operate in the Keynsham area and provide similar benefits is Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE) itself. However, this would miss the opportunity for greater local engagement through KCE’s connection to their area, and to create more capacity within the district in the form of another local energy enterprise. BWCE fully supports KCE and the principle of operating at the most local level and is providing support to KCE for their first project.

(5)  As with the original BWCE Agreement, the KCE Cooperation Agreement is not an exclusive agreement, and the Council can choose to pursue other options should it be in its interests to do so and would positively consider any other organisation’s proposals that achieved the same aims.