Having spoken to various community energy groups we realise that some of you are concerned about the legal implications of recommending installers. Well help is at hand. We've developed a free widget that you can add to your website, so your members can search for local installers and use feedback left previous customers to help them judge which suits them best (see picture).

You can choose the colour and size that best fits your website design. Just select the widget you want and copy and paste the code into your website. When people click on Find, they will be taken to a new page on the YouGen website. Click here to request your widget.

We can also supply you with a bespoke widget, which displays the results on your own website. This also lets you search for individuals in your area who have installed the technology you are interested in. See an example in situ, on Oxford University's Climate Xchange website. Contact us on Tel: 0845 450 9418 or click here to email us to find out more.

To make the best use of the widget, please encourage your friendly local installers to add themselves to our database, and to invite their customers to leave feedback (standard company membership costs £10 + VAT per month). Also, please encourage anyone your group helps to install renewable energy to share their experience, put case studies on the site, and to rate their installer's performance.

More and more local energy or low carbon groups are putting together community share schemes to raise money for local renewable energy installations. These are often on schools, village halls and other buildings used by people in the local area. They aim to give investors a reasonable return on their investment.

Current opportunities are listed below (YouGen does not endorse or recommend any of the schemes listed).

Wey Valley Solar Schools Energy Co-operative

A community owned energy co-operative, set up by local people to install and run electricity generating solar panels on the roofs of state schools in the Waverley and Guildford area.

Aims to raise: £670,000
Share offer closes: 15 November 2011
Projected interest: 5% in the first year, rising to 6% by year four
Invest from £250 to £20,000.

For more information and a prospectus: www.weyvalleysolar.co.uk

To add your share issue, send us the details in the same format as the project above.

Whenever we publish articles that are of particular interest to community energy groups, or other community organisations, we add a link here:

Case studies

Suffolk community take action to reduce heating costs

Solar PV with air source heat pumps installed in a village hall in Somerset

Eco-renovation transforms village hall: Insulation, underfloor heating, GSHP and solar PV make Branscombe Village Hall one of the most energy efficient in the country

Solar PV panels installed on 10th century Norman church in Bucks

Off-grid solar PV panels power a field studies centre in Devon

Primary School's electricity bills fall to a quarter of previous level thanks to  installation of solar PV

Getting grants

Top tips on how to get grants for renewable energy from a community shop in Devon