Empowering communities with Emergent Energy.
When Emergent Energy took home the Ashden Award for Breaking Barriers this year, it was a moment of recognition for a new, fairer model of clean energy in social housing. At Carbon3, we’re proud to have played a key part in making this possible, installing the solar panels that powered Emergent’s pioneering microgrid project in Hackney.
This achievement shows our shared commitment to sustainable, subsidy-free energy that reaches the people who need it most, particularly those living in blocks of flats that have been excluded from the benefits of solar.
Solar microgrids for flats
Emergent Energy’s mission is simple but important: to make solar energy accessible to people living in multi-dwelling buildings. This has been a challenge that has long frustrated councils and residents, as almost half of all social housing dwellings are flats, and all of their occupiers can’t benefit from traditional solar.
Emergent Energy has created a subsidy-free model that uses a rooftop solar array connected to a private microgrid, allowing residents to buy low-cost, clean energy directly.
This model breaks through longstanding regulatory and financial barriers. Historically, properties with multiple tenants couldn’t legally share electricity generated on-site, and most decarbonisation schemes required public funding or complicated billing structures. Emergent’s solution, supported by Ofgem, enables a legal workaround and uses private finance to scale the model, so no grants are required.
Real impact for residents
The outcome of Emergent’s pilot scheme has been immediate and impactful. In partnership with Hackney Council, their first large-scale solar deployment spans 28 blocks and around 800 homes. Residents saw energy bills drop by 10–15%, with no upfront cost. For many tenants in social housing, this kind of saving can be essential to their financial and physical wellbeing.
That’s what makes this project so exciting. We’re not just talking about reducing carbon emissions, we’re also talking about people, and providing them with cleaner air, warmer homes, and lower bills. And critically, energy security for households often left behind.
Why this award matters
The Ashden Awards celebrate the best in climate innovation, focusing on projects that deliver measurable impact for communities. Emergent’s award in the “Breaking Barriers” category recognises the huge challenge and potential of decarbonising social housing stock. It also highlights the importance of inclusive energy transitions where no community is left out because their building type is too difficult.
“Solar is one of the most transformative technologies we have. But people who live in flats have been excluded from its benefits, because of how our energy regulations worked.”
Reg Platt, Founder and CEO at Emergent Energy.
For Carbon3, this win confirms that real change doesn’t have to wait for perfect policy or endless subsidies. It can start with committed partners, a smart model, and boots on the roof.
Carbon3’s role in powering this vision
Carbon3 was proud to install the solar PV systems that underpin this award-winning infrastructure. We worked alongside Emergent and Hackney Council to deliver a high-quality installation of 1 megawatt of solar across 28 flats.
As these rooftops were at height, we coordinated scaffolding and relevant road closures. We ensured health and safety of both our engineers and the social housing residents was prioritised, and made sure tenants always had access to their homes.
What this means for the future of social housing decarbonisation
There are an estimated 2 million flats in the UK that could benefit from similar systems. Emergent’s model, now proven and award-winning, gives housing providers a practical route to reduce carbon, protect tenants, and attract private investment. And with a trusted delivery partner like Carbon3, scaling up is possible.
Hackney Council were able to avoid relying on government subsidies, by instead investing almost £2 million, at a rate of return equivalent to the cost of debt the council can raise, making the project effectively free for the council to deliver.
We see this model working particularly well for:
- Multi-block housing estates
- Retrofitting existing council housing
- New developments that want to ‘design in’ decentralised energy
It also integrates smoothly with battery storage, low-carbon heating, and smart energy monitoring, creating a full-circle solution for climate-conscious housing associations.
Resident engagement
One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is the positive feedback from residents. At Carbon3, we prioritise community engagement from day one. We help tenants understand what we’re doing, why it matters, and how it directly benefits them, whether through pre-installation meetings, resident booklets, or follow-up check-ins.
We work with the residents to understand any concerns, and make it clear we are going to be working hard to keep disturbances at a minimum. With this project, they were also provided with a choice. As we were installing across 28 blocks of flats, residents of these flats had the opportunity to opt-in and reap the rewards of up to 15% savings on their energy bills, but they also had the option of opting out.
The future of solar panels for social housing
We see this award as recognition for work well done, as well as an exciting innovation in decarbonising social housing. As we continue to work with forward-thinking organisations like Emergent, we’ll bring these systems to more homes, more councils, and more regions across the UK.
We’re currently engaging with housing providers in London, the South East, and beyond, offering turnkey services that combine solar PV, battery storage, ASHPs and EV infrastructure.
And we’re committed to building the right partnerships with energy co-operatives, social landlords, policy makers and technology providers to help renewable energy rollouts across the country.
Final thoughts
The Ashden Award proves that this is a scalable climate solution. Emergent Energy’s vision shows that low-carbon living can be affordable and equitable. Subsidy-free decarbonisation is not only viable, but already happening, and we can easily roll it out across the UK.
At Carbon3, we’re proud to power these possibilities. And we look forward to bringing this award-winning model to even more communities in 2025 and beyond.
“In a world often clouded by fear and frustration, these inspiring organisations offer bold, practical visions that can unite people across political and cultural divides.
Ashden CEO Dr Ashok Sinha
“Without exception, Ashden winners combine passion for a better world with a unique ability to deliver real-world change.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Are you a social housing provider looking to reduce electricity bills across your residential flats using either new or existing solar PV technology?
Alongside Emergent Energy, we can provide an innovative solar microgrid solution that not only achieves this, but does so without a requirement for any extra, expensive re-distribution technologies or any government subsidies.
Contact us for a project consultation or visit our latest case studies.
When Emergent Energy took home the Ashden Award for Breaking Barriers this year, it was a moment of recognition for a new, fairer model of clean energy in social housing. At Carbon3, we’re proud to have played a key part in making this possible, installing the solar panels that powered Emergent’s pioneering microgrid project in Hackney.
This achievement shows our shared commitment to sustainable, subsidy-free energy that reaches the people who need it most, particularly those living in blocks of flats that have been excluded from the benefits of solar.
Solar microgrids for flats
Emergent Energy’s mission is simple but important: to make solar energy accessible to people living in multi-dwelling buildings. This has been a challenge that has long frustrated councils and residents, as almost half of all social housing dwellings are flats, and all of their occupiers can’t benefit from traditional solar.
Emergent Energy has created a subsidy-free model that uses a rooftop solar array connected to a private microgrid, allowing residents to buy low-cost, clean energy directly.
This model breaks through longstanding regulatory and financial barriers. Historically, properties with multiple tenants couldn’t legally share electricity generated on-site, and most decarbonisation schemes required public funding or complicated billing structures. Emergent’s solution, supported by Ofgem, enables a legal workaround and uses private finance to scale the model, so no grants are required.
Real impact for residents
The outcome of Emergent’s pilot scheme has been immediate and impactful. In partnership with Hackney Council, their first large-scale solar deployment spans 28 blocks and around 800 homes. Residents saw energy bills drop by 10–15%, with no upfront cost. For many tenants in social housing, this kind of saving can be essential to their financial and physical wellbeing.
That’s what makes this project so exciting. We’re not just talking about reducing carbon emissions, we’re also talking about people, and providing them with cleaner air, warmer homes, and lower bills. And critically, energy security for households often left behind.
Why this award matters
The Ashden Awards celebrate the best in climate innovation, focusing on projects that deliver measurable impact for communities. Emergent’s award in the “Breaking Barriers” category recognises the huge challenge and potential of decarbonising social housing stock. It also highlights the importance of inclusive energy transitions where no community is left out because their building type is too difficult.
“Solar is one of the most transformative technologies we have. But people who live in flats have been excluded from its benefits, because of how our energy regulations worked.”
Reg Platt, Founder and CEO at Emergent Energy.
For Carbon3, this win confirms that real change doesn’t have to wait for perfect policy or endless subsidies. It can start with committed partners, a smart model, and boots on the roof.
Carbon3’s role in powering this vision
Carbon3 was proud to install the solar PV systems that underpin this award-winning infrastructure. We worked alongside Emergent and Hackney Council to deliver a high-quality installation of 1 megawatt of solar across 28 flats.
As these rooftops were at height, we coordinated scaffolding and relevant road closures. We ensured health and safety of both our engineers and the social housing residents was prioritised, and made sure tenants always had access to their homes.
What this means for the future of social housing decarbonisation
There are an estimated 2 million flats in the UK that could benefit from similar systems. Emergent’s model, now proven and award-winning, gives housing providers a practical route to reduce carbon, protect tenants, and attract private investment. And with a trusted delivery partner like Carbon3, scaling up is possible.
Hackney Council were able to avoid relying on government subsidies, by instead investing almost £2 million, at a rate of return equivalent to the cost of debt the council can raise, making the project effectively free for the council to deliver.
We see this model working particularly well for:
- Multi-block housing estates
- Retrofitting existing council housing
- New developments that want to ‘design in’ decentralised energy
It also integrates smoothly with battery storage, low-carbon heating, and smart energy monitoring, creating a full-circle solution for climate-conscious housing associations.
Resident engagement
One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is the positive feedback from residents. At Carbon3, we prioritise community engagement from day one. We help tenants understand what we’re doing, why it matters, and how it directly benefits them, whether through pre-installation meetings, resident booklets, or follow-up check-ins.
We work with the residents to understand any concerns, and make it clear we are going to be working hard to keep disturbances at a minimum. With this project, they were also provided with a choice. As we were installing across 28 blocks of flats, residents of these flats had the opportunity to opt-in and reap the rewards of up to 15% savings on their energy bills, but they also had the option of opting out.
The future of solar panels for social housing
We see this award as recognition for work well done, as well as an exciting innovation in decarbonising social housing. As we continue to work with forward-thinking organisations like Emergent, we’ll bring these systems to more homes, more councils, and more regions across the UK.
We’re currently engaging with housing providers in London, the South East, and beyond, offering turnkey services that combine solar PV, battery storage, ASHPs and EV infrastructure.
And we’re committed to building the right partnerships with energy co-operatives, social landlords, policy makers and technology providers to help renewable energy rollouts across the country.
Final thoughts
The Ashden Award proves that this is a scalable climate solution. Emergent Energy’s vision shows that low-carbon living can be affordable and equitable. Subsidy-free decarbonisation is not only viable, but already happening, and we can easily roll it out across the UK.
At Carbon3, we’re proud to power these possibilities. And we look forward to bringing this award-winning model to even more communities in 2025 and beyond.
“In a world often clouded by fear and frustration, these inspiring organisations offer bold, practical visions that can unite people across political and cultural divides.
Ashden CEO Dr Ashok Sinha
“Without exception, Ashden winners combine passion for a better world with a unique ability to deliver real-world change.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Are you a social housing provider looking to reduce electricity bills across your residential flats using either new or existing solar PV technology?
Alongside Emergent Energy, we can provide an innovative solar microgrid solution that not only achieves this, but does so without a requirement for any extra, expensive re-distribution technologies or any government subsidies.
Contact us for a project consultation or visit our latest case studies.