Community solar power comes to Eastbourne
BHESCo and Eastbourne ECO Action are bringing fully-funded solar panels and batteries to houses in Langney
Community solar power comes to Eastbourne
BHESCo and ECO Action Eastbourne are bringing fully-funded solar panels and batteries to families in Langney
What is this all about?
Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) has partnered with Eastbourne ECO Action Network (EEAN) to bring fully-funded solar panels and battery storage to households in Eastbourne — with no upfront cost, no hidden charges, and savings on energy bills from day one.
With energy prices continuing to rise and global markets remaining unpredictable, this is a timely and valuable opportunity for residents in Eastbourne to take control of their energy costs — and stay protected from price rises for the next 20 to 30 years.
This programme places fairness, accessibility and community benefit at its heart. It is specifically designed for households that find it hardest to keep up with energy bills, and is open to homeowners, private renters and social housing tenants alike.
We are starting in Langney — one of Eastbourne’s most underserved communities, where many households are among those hit hardest by rising energy costs yet have been locked out of the renewable solutions that could help them.
How does it work?
The goal is to install rooftop solar panels and battery storage for as many homes as possible.
This is how the process works:
1
Register your interest
Become part of this community-led programme.
Click to register your interest
2
Free survey
We’ll visit your home to assess your roof’s solar potential at no cost
3
Receive quotation and system design
We’ll show you exactly how much you could save, with a tailored design for your home
4
Sign a Letter of Intent (LOI)
To confirm your interest in proceeding with the programme, with no obligation
5
Finalise your funding option
We’ll help you identify the best route, whether that’s the BHESCo PPA model or funding through the Warm Homes Plan
6
Installation of equipment
An MCS-certified installer will install high-quality solar panels and battery storage at your house
7
Start saving
You enjoy a big cut in energy costs as your home is powered by solar electricity.
Which households can participate?
Anyone living in the shaded area in the map below is invited to sign up for the Solar Powered Communities programme.
Solar Powered Communities Timeline
Community launch meeting
April 2026
Home surveys to identify potential for solar panels
May – July 2026
Preparation of finance options
Aug – Sept 2026
Residents receive solar design and finance options
Oct 2026
Contracts signed and systems installed
Nov 2026
How are the solar panels and batteries paid for?
There are a few different ways that we can help people get solar panels and batteries installed for free.
Warm Homes Plan: Fully-funded upgrades
In January 2026, the UK Government launched the Warm Homes Plan, a £15 billion programme to install solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and insulation in homes across Britain.
Where possible, we will help households in Eastbourne access 100% fully-funded solar panels and batteries through the Warm Homes Plan.
People living in Eastbourne are advised to apply for the Warm Homes Plan through the Warm East Sussex website: www.warmeastsussex.org.uk/funding.
Warm Homes Plan: No-cost or low-cost loans
If your household is not eligible for fully-funded home upgrades through the Warm Homes Plan, you can apply for a loan at a zero or very-low interest rate.
BHESCo Solar Powered Community-programme
BHESCo can cover the cost of your solar panels and battery storage system, and sell the electricity back to you. The electricity rate you pay BHESCo will be much lower than the rate you pay to your energy company.
Benefits to your household
- Pay nothing upfront
- Enjoy instant savings
- All maintenance and monitoring taken care of
- Protection against energy price hikes
- Increased property value
Who are the project partners?
Eastbourne ECO Action Network
Eastbourne’s grassroots climate action network, working to make Eastbourne carbon neutral by 2030.
Eastbourne ECO Action Network brings together local people, businesses, councillors and community groups to take bold, practical climate action. Their Housing & Energy Group works specifically to bring Eastbourne homes towards carbon neutrality and tackle energy hardship — making them the ideal partner for this programme.
- 974+ local organisations connected
- Carbon neutral goal by 2030
- Volunteer-run
Where is there a successful example of a Solar Powered Community?
Preston Park Community Energy (2025)
Preston Park Community Energy was BHESCo’s first successful community-led residential solar power programme.
With installations delivered by our partners at POP Energy, the programme saw solar panels and batteries installed at 10 properties, all financed by BHESCo’s network of community investors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
BHESCo is a Brighton-based company that develop energy saving and renewable energy projects for communities and businesses in Sussex. Founded in 2012, BHESCo has developed sixty-six clean energy projects which are expected to save our customers more than £4 million.
Funding for the programme comes from the Just Transition Fund, part of the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. In Autumn 2025, BHESCo were successful in an application to the fund so that we could expand our Solar Power Communities offering to new communities in Sussex.
Energy Saving Trust has been appointed by Ofgem to distribute payments from companies who may have breached Ofgem rules
The Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, launched in 2018, has awarded over £213 million to fund 790 projects across England, Scotland and Wales that support vulnerable energy customers and carbon emission reduction initiatives.
Read more about Energy Redress here: https://energyredress.org.uk/.
Private rental tenants are welcome to participate in the programme.
If you live in a rental property, please pass details of the Solar Power Communities programme to your landlord. Alternatively, please provide your landlord’s contact details to BHESCo and we can contact them directly.
Solar panels are considered permitted development by the planning authority. Under the permitted development criteria solar panels can be installed on a front roof slope in a conservation area. Furthermore, the solar panels can project up to 200mm from the slope of the roof under permitted development. Rules around permitted development can be accessed on the Council’s planning website.
What has happened so far?
On the evening of 30 April 2026, BHESCo and Eastbourne Eco Action Network took a significant step forward in the fight against high energy costs — launching the Solar Powered Communities in Langney, Eastbourne.
Residents from across the neighbourhood gathered at St Barnabas United Church and Christian Centre to hear how fully-funded solar panels and battery storage could be coming to their homes — at no upfront cost, no hidden charges, and with savings on their energy bills from day one. Local councillors also attended the event, lending their support to a programme they see as a meaningful response to the cost of living pressures facing Langney’s communities.
The event opened with a warm welcome from EEAN, whose deep roots in the local community helped bring residents through the door. BHESCo CEO Kayla Ente MBE then took to the floor to present the programme in full — covering how it works, who is eligible, the funding model, and what households can expect from the moment they register their interest to the day their panels are switched on.
A lively Q&A followed, with residents asking everything from how the Power Purchase Agreement works to whether the programme is open to renters and social housing tenants (the answer, emphatically, is yes).
Why Langney?
Langney was chosen as the first community in the Eastbourne strand of the Just Transition Programme because the need here is real and urgent. Many households in the area are among those hit hardest by rising energy costs, yet have been locked out of the renewable energy solutions that could help them. This programme exists to change that.
BHESCo and EEAN are targeting around 1,000 properties across the defined Langney area — bounded by Willingdon Drove to the north, Langney Rise to the east, and Sevenoaks Road to the south and west — with the aim of engaging at least 200 households across Eastbourne as a whole.
Interested? The next step is to register for the programme!