How Energy Communities Can Help Tackle the Energy Trilemma

A resilient energy system isn’t built overnight, and it certainly isn’t built alone.

In this blog, Commercial Analyst Graduate Matthew Girling looks at the growing role of energy communities in reshaping the UK’s energy landscape.

From reducing exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets, to cutting bills and driving decarbonisation, he explores why community‑led energy is emerging as a practical and promising solution to the energy trilemma. 

As the global economy recovered after COVID-19, demand for gas outpaced supply, causing wholesale prices to rise. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the subsequent imposing of sanctions, pushed prices even higher. Because gas often sets the marginal price of electricity and is widely used for home heating in the UK, this price shock fed directly into energy bills. 

The energy crisis of 2021-23 was, for many people in the UK, the moment when energy stopped feeling abstract and started impacting everyday life. Even with protections such as the energy price cap and the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), households saw bills increase dramatically compared to previous years.  

And as recent events show, these vulnerabilities have not gone away. Since the Iran War began in late February 2026, attacks on energy infrastructure and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - a route responsible for around a fifth of the world’s oil trade - have caused energy commodity prices to surge once again. Although the UK imports little energy directly from the region, fossil fuel markets are globally interconnected meaning disruptions in one part of the world can quickly drive up prices everywhere. This latest price shock highlights the continued risks of relying on internationally traded fossil fuels and the importance of building a more resilient energy system.  

What are energy communities, and can they help solve this trilemma?

Energy communities are groups of people who come together to generate, share, and manage energy locally. They can include community-owned solar and/or wind projects, as well as collective approaches to energy flexibility to help balance the grid. Since the founding of Baywind Energy Co-operative in 1996 – the first co-operative to own wind turbines in the UK – community energy has become an increasingly important part of the UK’s energy system, reflecting a broader shift towards decentralisation. Furthermore, there is also growing interest in peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, where energy is shared and/or traded within communities. 

According to Community Energy England’s State of the Sector Report (2025), there are 614 community energy organisations in the UK, a 24% increase since 2021. Together, these organisations have 212,960 members, up 46% over the same period. While small in system terms, this illustrates that the sector is growing with real momentum. 

This growth has also been reflected in recent policy developments. Labour’s Local Power Plan, published in February, proposes up to £1 billion of funding for community energy projects in the UK. Delivered through Great British Energy, the plan aims to support local authorities and community energy organisations with access to grants, loans, and technical support to help develop projects, such as solar installations on community buildings or small-scale wind. The plan is intended to accelerate the growth of community energy, while cutting bills and strengthening local economies. Community energy is thus no longer seen as something niche, but as a practical part of the UK’s energy transition. Recent events have underlined the need to prioritise not only sustainability but affordability and security too. 

The energy crisis of 2021-23 and the latest price spike triggered by the Iran War have both shown how exposed the UK is to international fossil fuel price shocks - much like the oil crises of the 1970s did decades earlier. Reducing that exposure means reducing reliance on fossil fuels altogether. Electrification, powered by clean energy, is therefore central to long-term energy security. At a local level, energy communities contribute to this aim by supporting solar, wind, and other renewable generation. Put simply, every unit of electricity generated from local renewables is a unit not tied to volatile gas markets. 

As well as enhancing energy security, energy communities can help lower bills. For households that generate their own electricity, such as those with solar panels, being part of an energy community can increase the value of that generation and reduce payback periods. Instead of prosumers exporting at a low rate – or at a standard Smart Export (SEG) rate - and consumers importing at a high rate, surplus power can be traded locally at a rate somewhere in between, allowing both parties to benefit. Community-owned renewable projects can also supply electricity at a lower cost, given that they are cheaper to run than fossil fuel plants. Crucially, as renewable technologies fall in cost, community energy and community benefit societies provide a way to pass those savings directly to households, rather than relying solely on big energy companies to do so. 

Finally, by supporting the deployment of renewables, energy communities also contribute to sustainability, enabling people to take climate action rather than simply express their support for net zero. By participating in local projects, households shift from being passive consumers to active contributors to the energy transition. This shift is essential if climate targets are to be met. 

Taken together, these points show how energy communities can help solve the energy trilemma by making the energy system more secure, more affordable, more sustainable - and, ultimately, better aligned with the needs of the people it serves.