Durham Community Action attended the Clean Energy UK Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle, in partnership with Net Zero North East England. The event brought together over four hundred people from a wide range of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, skills, and finance sectors, to accelerate the UK’s clean energy transition.

The conference focused on three key themes throughout the event:

• Power UP: Innovations in clean energy production, storage, and infrastructure, including offshore wind and green hydrogen.
• Skill UP: Building a skilled workforce for a green future through re-skilling and education
• Scale UP: Driving investment, policy, and regional growth to support a net-zero

With expert speakers, panels, and networking opportunities, the event showcased how working in collaboration can unlock sustainable growth and highlighted how the North East are at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy revolution. A full round of the event can be found here:

Clean Energy 2025 - Round Up

Durham Community Action attended a two-day conference held at Durham’s iconic and newly refurbished Redhills Miners Hall.

With keynote speakers including Chris Stark CBE, Head of the UK’s Mission for Clean Power, and Chris McDonald MP, Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the two-day event showcased the Institute’s pioneering approach to inclusive energy research. Community leaders, industry experts, policy-makers, artists, and academics were brought together to champion the inclusive innovation and regeneration at the heart of the North East and potential global collaborations via international case studies.

Find out more about the Institute’s work, the event and photos from the day:

North East's Green Leadership showcased at Landmark Energy Days Conference

There’s still time to utilise RStuff’s Christmas Toolkit, created by Rstuff for schools, councils, and community groups. Filled with practical resources, this toolkit makes it easy to host a fun, environmentally responsible, and thoughtful holiday season.

Download it here on their community page, along with lots of other helpful information for Community groups on their website:

 Restuff | Community Resources

Community Energy England hosted the 2025 Community Energy Awards in Sheffield on 17th November, showcasing trailblazers in community energy throughout the county.

Be inspired by this year's winners here:

Highlights from the Community Energy Awards 2025

Community Energy England has launched a new campaign to push community power into the centre of national debate. ‘Up the Energy Campaign’ calls for practical steps to make sure every community can share in the benefits of clean, locally owned energy.

Find more information on their new website here:

Up the Energy

Cleaner and Greener are developing a new Community Hub model that uses empty shop units to help people learn about sustainable living and build stronger, more resilient communities. Their webinar (slides here) explains the idea, and they also offer support, including a Hub Templates Package, free 1:1 advice, a Sustainability Support Network, and a 2026 research project.

DCA’s Online Share & Learn Network Meeting on 19th February 2026 from 10.00 - 11.30am will include a short slot from Cleaner and Greener, giving you the chance to hear more about their project. The session will also feature a regional Community Energy organisation. More details will follow in the New Year.

If you’d like to connect with Cleaner and Greener directly, you can fill in their Expression of Interest form

The Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) helps County Durham SMEs reduce energy costs and carbon emissions through fully funded energy audits that help organisations identify cost-effective improvements needed to save energy.

Organisations based in Derwentside can still access grant funding to support the installation of energy-efficient equipment such as lighting, heating, and other energy-saving measures.

To learn more or to apply for an energy audit, please contact the team at beep@durham.gov.uk and 03000 265547.

This network provides an opportunity for community buildings across Teesdale to come together for peer support and talk about issues they currently face.

The agenda is set by the community building representatives and is an open discussion space.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 14th January at Butterknowle Village Hall; please email craig.hampton@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk for further details.

Join developers, planning consultants, lawyers, and policymakers for a focused one-day programme of insight, debate, and networking. The event will cover:

• How planning reform, Clean Power 2030, and the Strategic Spatial Energy Planning (SSEP) can align, and the risks if they don’t
• What the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) means for your projects on the ground
• How to tackle misinformation, build public support, and adopt effective engagement strategies.

The conference takes place on Tuesday 27th January. For more information and to book tickets, please visit their website:

REGEN Planning Conference 2026: Delivering clean power through planning

This three-day event is the UK’s leading forum on fuel poverty, energy justice, and the transition to affordable, sustainable warmth for all. It brings together delegates from across government, industry, housing, health, and the voluntary sector to explore the latest policy developments, practical solutions, and partnerships driving change.

The conference will take place at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead, from Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th February.

For more details and to book your place, please visit their website:

National Energy Action Annual Conference and Exhibition 2026

The first event took place in Leeds with a variety of partners from across the sector, from Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to community organisations, local authorities to charities, and a follow-up event will be held in Newcastle on Tuesday 3rd March and Leeds / York (TBC) on Tuesday 2nd June – we will send out further information when we receive booking instructions.

Visit their website in the meantime to find out how they can support you:

Northern Powergrid Supporting Customers: Community Partners

North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub, part of the national network of hubs in England set up to support the development and delivery of energy projects have pulled together different funding opportunities for groups in the region.

Please visit their website here for further details:

North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub Funding

National Lottery Awards for All – Environment are looking to fund projects that help people connect with and care for nature in their area and/or make a positive difference to the environment.

Projects that can be considered include running repair or reuse sessions or installing solar panels, or other energy-saving features in well-used community buildings.

For more information, please visit:

National Lottery Awards for All England - Environment

For other funding opportunities, keep an eye on our social media or visit our Funding Advice and Support webpage

NEA are running a webinar to look at how fuel suppliers, distribution network operators, gas distribution network companies and Ofgem define vulnerability and the support on offer, such as the Priority Services Register.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday 16th December from 9.30am - 11.00am.

Find out more and book your place:

Vulnerable Situations in the Domestic Energy Market Webinar

This online workshop, taking place on Tuesday 13th January from 10.00 - 11.30am, is aimed at volunteer led organisations and community groups.

It will support you to complete a funding application and will cover understanding the basics of applying for grant funding, how to link your project to a funder’s criteria and a demonstration of the Durham4Community grant finder programme.

Book your place here for the Completing a Funding Application workshop

Are you planning on making energy efficiency improvements to your Community Building or Village Hall, and are not sure where to start?

This online workshop, taking place on Tuesday 3rd March from 10.00 - 11.30am, will cover understanding the key steps to take before applying for capital funding, identifying legal and regulatory issues that may impact funding, assessing your building’s readiness, gathering essential documentation, and developing an action plan for preparing a strong funding application.

Book your place here for the Becoming Capital Funding Ready workshop

If you work with or are part of a community energy group or third sector organisation in the North East or Yorkshire and have the ambition to drive forward local energy projects, our free Carbon Literacy training could be a vital first step.

This training will help you learn about what impactful change can be made at all levels – individuals, communities, and organisations.

You’ll gain the skills and confidence to take meaningful action – maybe even including establishing a community energy project, where clean power is generated where it is used for the benefit of local people.

The free online courses will take place over two three-hour sessions and are being funded by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub as part of the Hub’s work developing the local community energy sector and upon completion of the course, delivered by Change Agents UK, you will also receive an official Carbon Literacy certificate. More details available below for specific groups:

• For Elected Members & Representatives, Fridays January 23rd and 30th, 9.15am - 12.30pm
• For Local Authority Staff, Tuesdays January 20th & 27th, 9.15 - 12.30pm
• For VCSE Organisations, Fridays February 6th & 13th, 9.15 - 12.30pm