Octopus Energy and The Midcounties Co-operative are relaunching their community energy joint venture as Younity.
The joint venture was originally launched in November 2019 following the two forming a strategic partnership, which saw Octopus take on 300,000 retail customers from Co-op Energy in August 2019.
Younity will focus on breaking down some of the barriers that prevent community energy projects from coming on-stream, with Younity – previously known as Co-op Community Energy – having already formed partnerships with 100 community generators.
The renewable energy from these partnerships power the ‘Your Co-op Energy’s Community Power’ tariff, which was launched in January 2020 as the only tariff in the UK to come solely from community power projects.
The joint venture is to investigate innovative ways to make funding more accessible for community energy projects, while also continuing to provide direct financial support through the Community Power Fund. This fund is financed through the tariff, and has already made grants to support the ambitions of six community energy groups in the UK.
Additionally, customers who choose the tariff will soon have the option of investing directly into new and existing projects through a small addition to their monthly bill.
Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation said that community energy projects are “a giant leap in the right direction in cleaning up the UK’s energy mix”.
“With Younity, alongside Midcounties Cooperative, we aim to inspire the next generation about all the benefits that this powerful movement encapsulates.”
