Southill Community Energy

Southill Community Energy developed and operates Southill Solar – a community-owned solar farm on a 45-acre site on the Cornbury Estate, generating clean energy since 2016.

The farm produces enough electricity to power over 1,000 homes in Charlbury, Finstock and Fawler for the next 25 years. Generation data is available to view in real time, refreshed every five minutes.

The site lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To minimise visual impact, the panels are located in a fold of land not visible from the road. The group works with an ecologist to implement a biodiversity enhancement plan and has its own beekeeper, who created a Thermosolar Beehive – the first of its kind in the UK.

As a community benefit society, Southill Community Energy uses surplus funds from the solar farm to support local low-carbon initiatives through a programme of grants, distributed by fellow Low Carbon Hub community group Sustainable Charlbury.