The company provides a zero-upfront cost, end-to-end service delivering local renewable energy systems and smarter grid connections for homes and industrial projects.

• SNRG funds, develops and operates smart local energy systems across the UK.
• Antin Infrastructure Partners acquired a controlling stake in the Centrica-backed firm last year and will support the deployment of 300MWp of rooftop solar and 250MW of commercial battery storage by 2028.
• David Cowans, former Group Chief Executive of Places for People, has joined as chair of the board.
• The Skidmore review has highlighted potential for a ‘rooftop revolution’.
• The wider team has grown from 10 to 30 in the last 12 months and is expected to scale further by the end of 2023.

SNRG, a leading funder, developer and operator of innovative SmartGrid renewable energy networks, has announced a key hire and expansion plans to help drive the UK’s all-electric transition.

The firm helps housebuilders, residential, commercial, and industrial developers secure smarter grid connections and planning, while lowering development and energy costs through integrated solar, battery energy storage, low-carbon heating and EV charging.

Antin Infrastructure Partners, who took a controlling share in SNRG last April, will support SNRG to fund and deploy 300MWp of rooftop solar and 250MW of commercial battery storage by 2028 through the deployment of SmartGrids.

Now, the former Group Chief Executive of Places for People, David Cowans, has joined SNRG as Chair.

Cowans is an influential figure in the housing sector, having spent 24 years as Group Chief Executive of Places for People. Over that time, he built the housing association’s portfolio to 219,000 homes and a turnover of more than £800m.

David Cowans says: “Years ago, I had the realisation that, I wasn’t actually in the housing business at all. I was in the place business. People now see housing in the context of a place, a neighbourhood, a community, a location, the social impact, the cost of living and the energy in that place.

“I’m very passionate about sustainability and tackling climate change, so that’s what really attracted me to the SNRG model.

“The SNRG SmartGrid and technology proposition can equally work for a school or factory as it can for a housing development which is why the business has seen such huge growth in its pipeline.

“It is a practical, realistic proposition with a place-based approach that, with the backing of Centrica and Antin Infrastructure Partners, will have impact at scale.”

A report by the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) found that warehouses alone cover 18,500 acres of land and have the combined roof space to generate 15GW of new solar power.

MP Chris Skidmore’s wide-ranging Net Zero Review also recently called for a ‘rooftop revolution,’ which would remove the need to secure planning permission for solar panels and consider whether they should be mandatory on all new building projects.

The SNRG SmartGrid can reduce the cost and timeline for a new grid connection by up to 50 per cent, and reduce the cost of energy by up to 30 per cent, by managing the funding and operation of the renewable energy assets, as well as the sought after connection to the grid. For industrial, commercial, and residential developments, this limits pressure on the grid, improves energy security and EPC standards, and lowers ongoing costs for owners and occupiers.

SNRG has recruited 30 vastly experienced professionals from the energy sector to deliver this promise, with plans to further expand the team in 2023.

Shane Hussain, Founder and Chief Executive of SNRG, said: “David’s outstanding experience and commitment to sustainability makes him the ideal person for this role. 

“Our mission is to accelerate the all-electric net-zero transition and I look forward to working closely with David on delivering all aspects of this shift.

“By funding place-based renewable energy systems and SmartGrids, enabled by the support provided by Antin Infrastructure Partners and Centrica, we can make a major difference.”

Formed in 2018, SNRG secured backing from the UK’s leading energy services and solutions provider, Centrica, in 2019. Antin Infrastructure Partners acquired a controlling stake in the organisation in April 2022.

SNRG is a NextGen infrastructure company, with the deep expertise and backing to design, fund, build and operate smarter grid connections empowered by place-based, renewable energy systems. It’s a synergy (SNRG) of locally integrated electrical distribution, renewable generation, smart storage, heating, cooling, and EV charging solutions.

By taking a unique communal approach that optimises hundreds of homes, buildings, and assets into a single system SNRG is able to meaningfully reduce the cost, complexity, and carbon for developers, building owners, communities, and occupiers.