Accelerating the transition to local clean energy

with Kayla Ente MBE, founder and CEO of BHESCo

For most people across the UK, the recent rise in energy prices has come as a nasty surprise. Why have prices suddenly risen by so much, and so fast?

From 1st April 2022, gas and electricity costs will soar by 54%, adding around £710 to the average annual household bill. 

Unlike most people in the UK, Kayla Ente has been warning of such a crisis for years and has been working tirelessly to protect residents and businesses from a shock on this scale.

“The fossil fuel industry has always been volatile. We can only expect that to get worse as pressure from developing nations for access to global gas and oil supplies increases. That’s one of the reasons I set up BHESCo, because I saw that the most effective way to protect communities from unpredictable energy prices was to start generating locally owned, clean, renewable energy, combined with energy efficiency.”

As well as reducing energy costs for consumers, Kayla yearned to start a business which would empower communities to play an active role in tackling the escalating climate crisis, while giving them the opportunity to own their own energy supply. 

“It was clear that governments around the world were talking the talk on climate change without taking significant, consistent action. I established BHESCo to offer all the tools and support that people need to make the transition away from fossil fuels towards low carbon.  Fortunately, economics and global tensions are making that easier.”

Reducing energy costs and reducing carbon emissions to create a fair and just energy industry. These are the dual goals of Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo). 

Founded in 2013 by Kayla Ente, a native of Massachusetts, USA, BHESCo has come to be considered a leader in the UK’s community energy sector, recognised for delivering innovative low-carbon projects that are funded through the power of community finance. 

The idea behind BHESCo came from Kayla’s past experiences with climate campaigning, emerging from her work for a Dutch renewable energy supplier. 

After graduating with an accounting degree from a college in Rhode Island, USA, Kayla was working for Greenpeace International when it became clear that campaigning alone wouldn’t create the system change needed to avert climate catastrophe. She decided to focus on the energy industry as a major producer of global climate change where solutions could be addressed at a local level. 

“It was clear that ‘business as usual’ was not working, for people or for the planet.

Complacency with existing convention is not my way, so I began to develop a business model around the provision of clean energy to customers as a service, as opposed to a commodity.  BHESCo is all about offering a holistic, caring and ongoing relationship with our customers, instead of simply completing a standalone project and moving on.”

BHESCo does things differently, by focusing on people and communities instead of maximising financial returns. The co-operative model is a striking alternative to capitalism, as a way of doing business with a duty of care for people’s welfare. Making a profit, but not at the expense of our collective wellbeing.”

Working within this co-operative model, BHESCo helps people act on climate change by removing the barriers that can get in the way. 

“We have the technical solutions to solve climate change. The problem is that people don’t always have the financial resources, know-how or time to take things forward. BHESCo makes it easy by providing upfront project costs, courtesy of our co-operative members, and by designing a state-of-the-art energy system for our customers that will deliver affordable low-carbon heat and power for decades.” 

Since launching their first share offer in Summer 2015, BHESCo has attracted more than £1.4 million of investment from over 400 shareholders, which has financed the development of 58 community owned clean energy projects in and around Sussex. 

Project customers range from schools and churches to art galleries and leisure centres, with BHESCo installing all manner of low-carbon technologies including insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, and energy storage batteries.  Over their lifetime, these projects will collectively save BHESCo customers nearly £2 million on energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 7,000 tonnes, the equivalent of planting 115,746 trees.  While such stats are certainly impressive, Kayla insists that BHESCo is only just getting started.

“We are always looking to the future.  Our solutions are scalable so we concentrate on ways to mobilise communities to take action to safeguard their future, starting with energy efficiency.

“We are developing more community renewable heat projects, particularly in rural villages which are not connected to the gas grid. Decarbonising heat is one of the greatest challenges for the UK, and community energy has a key role to play in supporting this transition. In rural communities, heat is responsible for the lion’s share of carbon emissions.  With 2.5 million homes off the gas grid, it’s important to address, especially as oil prices skyrocket because the UK is a net importer of heating oil.”

On top of driving forward BHESCo’s growth, Kayla is motivated by a wish to see the community energy sector become an established player in the UK’s energy market. 

“Ultimately, what drives me the most is a strong desire to help communities around the country to start their own energy co-ops, expanding on the local energy model and bringing more democratic ownership of our energy resources to residents and businesses. We saw how people mobilised to support eachother during the pandemic. The same spirit will propel our quest for energy independence while bringing affordable, clean energy to our communities.”  

In recognition of her services to the community, Kayla was awarded an MBE in 2021.