IMPACT REPORT 2022
– highlights

2022 showed us once again that we need to accelerate our transition to a renewables-based energy system, not only to tackle the climate emergency but to reduce soaring energy bills and end the UK’s reliance on expensive, imported fossil fuels.

Thrive helped to connect more people to clean energy in 2022 – allocating £11.4 million to build new onshore wind, solar and battery storage projects, and installing 6MW of clean capacity, with another 25MW in construction. Our clean energy projects generated 133,858 MWh of renewable electricity, that’s enough to power 38,147 average UK homes and deliver emissions reductions equivalent to 58,314 tCO2e.

Other highlights from 2022 include:

  • £6.8 million raised for new projects and welcomed over 900 new investors to the Thrive community via our crowdfund with Triodos Bank.
  • Funded the construction of England’s largest onshore wind turbine in our home city of Bristol.
  • Published our biodiversity and net zero policies.

A full analysis of our impact can be accessed in our 2022 Annual Report here.

 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT1

 SOCIAL IMPACT

 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

“2022 has been a challenging year for many, with energy bills soaring as a result of the UK’s dependence on gas. Our response is to continue getting new renewable capacity built. This includes community-based projects such as England’s largest onshore wind turbine, as well as funding new rooftop solar arrays that help UK businesses to decarbonise and constructing a 20 MW battery storage project that will offer vital flexibility services to the grid. We’ve allocated a total of £11.4 million to developing more new projects – all of which will help with decarbonising the UK’s electricity system so that people can benefit from cheaper, cleaner power in future.”

Matthew Clayton, Managing Director, Thrive Renewables

Read our annual report

Read our annual report

Biodiversity policy

Biodiversity Policy

Certified B Corporation

Certified B Corporation

UN Sustainable Development Goals

UN Sustainable Development Goals

1 Impact Portfolio describing Thrive’s share of projects owned plus the projects Thrive is funding.

2 Calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,509 kWh per annum https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained

3 Average residents per household 2.4 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation andcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020), Population of Halifax is 91,338 (https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-1000/)

4 The average electricity consumption of an electric vehicle is 270Wh/mile (https://ev-database.uk/cheatsheet/energy-consumption-electric-car) and Vehicle licensing statistics: 2021 – (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-licensing-statistics-2021/vehicle-licensing-statistics-2021#licensed-electric-vehicles), average annual car mileage is  5,300 miles (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy#car-mileage), reported UK electric car fleet as of May 2022 is 421,230 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-licensing-statistics-2021/vehicle-licensing-statistics-2021#licensed-electric-vehicles), and average annual mileage of 93,562 Electric Vehicles, (22.2% of the UK’s Electric Car Fleet)

5 RenewableUK uses BEIS’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 432 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2022). Table 5.14 (“Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supplied”).Carbon reduction calculated by multiplying the total amount of renewable electricity generated by Thrive’s impact portfolio per year by the number of tonnes of carbon which fossil fuels would have produced to generate the same amount of electricity.

6 We are not able to source a nationally recognised means of calculating the water saving generated by generating electricity using wind and solar. The power sector consumes over 40% of Europe’s water, mainly for cooling purposes.  Nuclear consumes approximately 2.7m3/MWh, gas plants 0.7m3/MWh and coal plants 1.9m3/MWh (https://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library /publications/reports/Saving_water_with_wind_energy.pdf). Our crude, but intentionally conservative analysis, using the UKs 2021 generation mix (Energy Trends March 2022 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data /file/1064800/Energy_Trends_March_2022.pdf), provides a conservative average water consumption per MWh figure which attributes no water consumption to other thermal sources such as oil and bioenergy, or hydro.  We have multiplied Thrive’s generation by this factor, assuming that if our renewable projects had not generated this electricity,
the UK grid mix would have.

7 Includes Community Benefit Programme donations, CSE winter campaign donation, a number of individual site related donations and our community open day hosted at Avonmouth wind farm.