Every transformation starts with one institution, one decision, one action. But the real power comes when they connect.
RECfA is bringing education, capital, expertise and energy solutions together, introducing SENfA (Shared Energy Network for Academia) and a long-term vision for one connected energy ecosystem across academia.
The Renewable Energy Coalition for Academia RECfA has launched the POWER of ONE built on a simple belief: individual institutions can achieve more when they connect.
By uniting education, government compliance, capital, expertise and delivery partners, RECfA helps institutions overcome barriers, unlock investment and turn individual action into collective progress.
Through SENfA, that progress can develop into a lasting community of shared knowledge, energy intelligence, opportunity and collective value.
Where shared ambition becomes collective action. RECfA is the independent coalition turning shared ambition into coordinated action, bringing together institutions, government, capital, sector bodies and delivery partners around one purpose: accelerating academia's energy transition.
Explore the coalition4 November 2026 · MK College Bletchley
On 4 November, the Renewable Energy Coalition for Academia (RECfA) held its inaugural launch event, POWER of ONE, at MK College Bletchley. Leaders, business managers and estates teams from schools, colleges and universities joined funders, delivery partners and sector bodies for an afternoon about turning climate ambition into action.
Opening the event, RECfA founder Michael Baugh explained the idea behind the name. Every transformation starts with one institution, one decision and one action. Its real power, he said, comes when those actions connect. RECfA is not tied to any one technology or supplier. It exists to bring institutions, government, capital and expertise together around one goal: Academia Powering Academia.
Bianca Anechite of EAUC presented the latest State of the Sector research on sustainability in post-16 education. Sustainability is now mainstream. But lack of money and lack of staff capacity were each named as a top barrier by more than half of respondents. The research found a widening gap between ambition and delivery. Capital, capacity and expertise were identified as the key opportunities.
Ben Prior of Beyond Solar, a RECfA partner, explained the current DfE position on solar power purchase agreements for schools. He covered the pauses, the Form E process, and the template PPA and pilot still to come. He also set out what a good-value agreement should look like. RECfA and Beyond Solar can guide schools through the whole process, from feasibility and DfE approval to installation and ongoing support.
Kayla Ente MBE of Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) showed what community-funded clean energy can achieve. BHESCo has completed 67 projects and delivered £4.4 million of customer savings. At Plumpton College alone, its rooftop solar has generated around 700 MWh of clean electricity.
Kampus showed how experience-led design and small, retrofit-first projects can change school campuses for students, staff and the climate.
Truesource presented on SENfA, the Shared Energy Network for Academia: an independent, member-led network where institutions can connect, learn and share. One school’s experience becomes knowledge every member can use.
RECfA mobilises, RECfA Capital enables, SENfA connects, and our future Virtual Power Platform will transform. Thank you to all our speakers, partners and everyone who attended, and to Milton Keynes College for hosting us.
This launch is the start of the coalition. Whether you run a single school or a multi-academy trust, bring what you know, what you need and what you can contribute, and let’s connect it. Slides and footage from the presentations will be posted on the site soon.
A conversation on connecting generation, storage and demand across institutions to create collective shared value. It explores how individual estates become one flexible network, and what that means for savings, resilience and the road to net zero. Recorded with the team behind the SENfA platform, it sets out what a connected academic estate could look like over the next decade.
RECfA Capital unlocks a PPAs/EaaS route that cut lighting energy use by 40% in a college pilot and paid for itself over ten years. No upfront capital is needed: the funding partner owns the new lighting, bill savings cover the repayments, and the estate keeps the difference once the term ends. It is designed for institutions with constrained budgets, so improvements can begin now rather than waiting for future capital allocations.
New capacity market figures show connected storage creating fresh income for trusts able to shift demand at peak times. Flexible estates gain a revenue line alongside their savings, and the more institutions join the network, the stronger its collective position in the market. Batteries paired with SENfA energy intelligence let campuses buy low, use power when demand peaks, and earn from the grid in between.
Buildings generate more than 40% of global emissions, yet legacy carbon registries struggle to keep pace. This episode maps BEClimate's four-part ecosystem, from verified mitigation units and procurement to AI carbon accounting and climate finance, and shows how measured data makes decarbonisation auditable.
Independent partners strengthen the coalition around one purpose: accelerating academia's energy transition, together. New delivery and sector body partners add expertise, capacity and reach, so institutions can move from ambition to implementation faster. It reflects a simple principle: no single school, college or university can transform its energy estate on its own.
A 10-year, £38 billion plan to modernise and decarbonise England's 22,200 school and college buildings, with a £710 million Renewal and Retrofit Programme to 2029-30. Phase one covers Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the South East, with first DfE estate returns due autumn 2026.
