We’re excited to share an update on the growing momentum behind Sussex Energy — a regional collaboration working to accelerate low-carbon energy delivery across Sussex and Brighton.
Launch of the Sussex Energy LinkedIn Page
We’re delighted to announce that the Sussex Energy LinkedIn Page is now live — and has already reached almost 300 followers in its first month.
The page has been created to:
- create a strong regional voice to champion clean energy opportunities and clean energy projects in Sussex
- connect partners and share opportunities to collaborate
- position Sussex as a destination for investment in renewable energy and green skills
Please follow the page to stay updated and help grow the regional conversation.
Sussex Energy Forum – Growing Regional Collaboration
The Sussex Energy Forum brings together people working on low-carbon energy across Sussex who want to accelerate impact through collaboration.
Our first in-person event in July surfaced shared priorities and opportunities, and we’ve since created a private LinkedIn group to continue the conversation and share resources.
If you work in this space, you are warmly invited to join.
From that first meeting, the following workstreams have formed. Below is a short update on each.
Communications – Coordinating the Regional Message
A Sussex Energy Comms Working Group has been formed, with representation from universities, local authorities, community energy organisations and businesses to strengthen alignment and amplify regional low-carbon energy messaging.
This November, Sussex Energy partnered with 5 University of Sussex students through the Winter 2025 Student Consultancy Programme.
The students worked on creating a shared library of Sussex-specific communications materials — including posts, images, infographics, and videos — covering themes such as:
- Keeping Sussex Warm
- increasing local renewable generation
- supporting community energy
This “pick and mix” library will underpin a Sussex Energy communications calendar to help partners coordinate content around shared themes.
If your organisation would like to be involved in the comms working group or access the materials, please send an email to greaterbrighton@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
One View – Building the Picture of Low Carbon Energy Activity
Brighton & Hove City Council is partnering with the University of Brighton to begin development early in the new year, aiming to build a consolidated picture of scaled energy-decarbonisation activity across Sussex. This initiative will showcase the strength and maturity of energy work in the region and help create a chain of demand.
One Voice – Aligning Sussex’s Regional Energy Position
As Sussex and Brighton move towards devolution, the aim is to develop a shared regional position on energy — ensuring it has a strong place in the new arrangements and that the region speaks with one voice on common priorities.
To support this, Sussex Energy is collaborating with West Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council, and Brighton & Hove City Council to develop a shared understanding of current activities and future opportunities in low-carbon energy. Once this initial picture is in place, it will be broadened to include further partners and perspectives.
Funding & Investment
Reaching energy neutrality by 2040 will require long-term investment and a strategic approach to financing regional decarbonisation. At present, funding activity across Sussex is fragmented, with opportunities often pursued on a project-by-project basis. Meanwhile, other regions have established coordinated investment mechanisms that Sussex does not yet have.
To address this gap, in the new year, Sussex Energy will be commissioning a coordinated, Sussex-wide approach to financing energy decarbonisation. The contracted work will focus on:
- exploring options for a Sussex decarbonisation fund
- mapping potential investors and funding sources
- developing an Investment Prospectus
- setting out the business case for a longer-term regional funding and investment function
- producing a strategic report on regional funding and investment for energy decarbonisation
Solar Across Sussex
Sussex benefits from some of the highest sunshine levels in the UK and has strong community-energy expertise — but currently lacks a coordinated regional approach to scaling solar.
The Solar Across Sussex programme, also being commissioned in the new year, will help change that by:
- mapping and prioritising solar opportunities across Sussex
- exploring rooftop, carport, and ground-mounted potential
- working with stakeholders to progress sites to an investment-ready stage
- designing approaches for aggregating projects to unlock scale, community benefit and investment
This will build a transparent, region-wide pipeline to accelerate solar delivery and support local jobs and skills growth.
Solar Industrial Roofs – Unlocking the “Distributed Power Station”
We’re beginning engagement with commercial landlords and tenants to overcome barriers to installing rooftop solar on industrial estates.
The ambition is to turn estates into a “distributed solar power station” by using community-energy and third-party investment models that:
- remove the need for landlord capital
- reduce tenant electricity costs via competitive long-term Power Purchase Agreements
- cut carbon and protect asset values
Events and wider engagement on this topic are planned for 2026 — more to come. If you’re a business and interested in having solar on your roof, send an email to greaterbrighton@brighton-hove.gov.uk to be looped into the conversation.
If you have any feedback, know of something to be included in future updates or would like to be added to or removed from future Sussex Energy update mails, send an email to greaterbrighton@brighton-hove.gov.uk.