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Almost £345,000 has been awarded to central southern England’s successful applicants in the 2025 round of our Powering Communities to Net Zero fund.
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A total of 32 projects across Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, Berkshire and the Isle of Wight are receiving their grants.
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Successful projects include funding for solar panel and battery storage for community hubs.
Almost £345,000 in grant funding has been awarded to not-for-profit community groups in our central southern England licence area in the 2025 round of our Powering Communities to Net Zero fund.
The Aims of the Fund
The fund has two aims; firstly, to support groups who are looking to cut the carbon from their activities through the adoption of solar panels, battery storage, EV chargers and heat pumps. And it also seeks to help communities become better prepared ahead of severe weather which may affect the local electricity network and cause the power to go off, or have other impacts.
2025’s successful applications
Last year’s successful applications in central southern England include funding for the installation of solar panels in community centres, energy efficient heating systems in village halls, and equipment to help support people during floods.
A total of 10 low carbon technology and 22 resilience projects are being funded in central southern England, with values of £129,000 and £215,000 respectively.
Click here for the full list of grant recipients in central southern England
ABOVE: The four trustees of Dilton Memorial Hall stand in front of their newly-installed battery storage, which was installed thanks to SSEN's community funding.
Dilton Memorial Hall in Wiltshire received more than £18,000 to install solar panels and battery storage. This new system means the hall’s trustees can save money, reduce their carbon footprint and ensure the hall is viable in the future.
Ray Jones, who’s one of the trustees Dilton Memorial Hall, says:
"This is something we have wanted to do for some time and thankfully, the grant funding from SSEN has allowed us to achieve our aim now, rather than years in the future".
SSEN Distribution’s Services Director, Eliane Algaard, says:
“I’m really heartened to see groups across the south of England submitting excellent applications to fund schemes that’ll deliver meaningful benefits to their local communities.
“The variety of applications received has once again been particularly impressive. Whether they’re taking the initiative by making plans to be better prepared ahead of severe weather or are investing to cut the carbon emissions from their day-to-day activities, all the communities who submitted applications are to be commended.
“We’re proud to be supporting the ambitions of those successful applicants, and we wish them well as they now work to move their projects forward.”
Applying for future funding rounds
The fund has a total value of £3m and runs annually, concluding in Spring 2028 at the end of the current ED2 price control period. The fund will reopen for applications wishing to bid for a grant as part of the 2026 round in March.
For more information on the fund, and to read the full details of what’s involved in applying, please head over to our dedicated webpage.