The 7.4MW Common Lot solar park will be co-located with a 10MWh grid-connected BESS.
November 6, 2026
Oxfordshire-based Low Carbon Hub, a social enterprise which develops community-owned renewable energy projects, is building a community-owned solar park co-located with a battery energy storage system (BESS).
The 7.4MW Common Lot solar park will be co-located with a 10MWh grid-connected BESS. It has a 2MW import connection, meaning it can be charged from the grid as well as the solar plant.
Members of the public and organisations can now buy community shares to help finance the project via the direct impact investing platform, Ethex. Low Carbon Hub is aiming to raise at least £500,000 through community shares.
According to the organisation, which is a Community Benefit Society, the project is the first solar-plus-storage development to be funded by community investment.
Investors receive a “modest” return on their investment and will see 100% of surplus profit from the park reinvested in other low carbon projects in the community.
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In an interview with Low Carbon Hub’s CEO Barbara Hammond, she explained the organisation’s focus is education. It uses the profits from renewable generation to fund local engagement.
Earlier this year, it opened an investment window for the UK’s ‘first’ community-owned BESS. The 3MW/12MWh BESS is co-located with the Ray Valley solar power plant, but Common Lot is the first co-located BESS to be integrated from the start; at one time the largest community-owned solar development in the UK, the 19MW Ray Valley solar project came online in 2022.
That offer took about two months to be 100% funded, with 240 investors participating.
It is generally accepted that community energy initiatives increase public support for a project, with community buy-in central to planning decisions in many cases.
The interest in Low Carbon Hub’s latest share offer demonstrates that there is an appetite for renewable energy in the UK when it has a demonstrable payback for the consumer.
The government has taken note: The Energy Independence Bill (EIB) starts the legislative process for a commitment made in the government’s Local Power Plan that would require renewable generation capacity of 1MW or more to offer up to 20% ownership to local individuals and communities. It also includes an obligation for suppliers to engage with and provide bespoke services to community energy organisations.
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Molly Green
Section Editor, Informa
Molly joined the team in 2024 and has led coverage on the UK sites. Now shifting to a more global view, Molly is interested in how legislation shapes market dynamics, covering the intersection of policy design, investment patterns, and energy transition pathways.
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