Introduction
Repowering London is a not-for-profit social enterprise aiming to empower local communities by developing community-owned renewable energy projects. They support communities and particularly deprived, inner-city social housing estates to develop, own, and manage renewable energy projects. Since it was founded in 2014, Repowering London has installed solar capacity that powers more than 125 homes in social housing estates, reduced carbon emissions by 200+ tonnes per year, and provided training and paid internships to 60+ local young people.
Scope
Subsidies for renewable energy have recently been reduced in the UK and Repowering London was at risk of a funding gap. Oliver Wyman was asked to conduct a strategic review and from that contribute to building a business plan for sustainable funding and growth. We developed a menu of options for improvements and growth, which were then refined and turned into detailed implementation plans at a stakeholder strategy day.
Oliver Wyman’s process and practice has been the most profound piece of work carried out in our organisation. The level of investigation into our sector; the enquiry into our company goals; and their financial nous created a robust, deliverable planAgamemnon Otero, CEO, Repowering London
Impact
At the end of the five week project, Repowering London had a comprehensive business plan for the next three years. We had helped them identify and articulate the key issues they were facing, agree the next steps for the core business, and how to explore new avenues for growth. With these in place, the Repowering London team could better make the case for other organisations to get involved in their work, ensuring a steady stream of income for the long term.
This thriving social enterprise is forcing regulators, public bodies, and society at large to rethink how small not-for-profits can operate in the UK energy market and at the same time reduce social inequalityBill Heath, Partner, Oliver Wyman