Renewable Energy Foundation

What Renewable Energy Foundation does

The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) is a UK registered charity (charity number 1107360), founded in 2004 and headquartered in Salisbury, England, that promotes sustainable development of renewable energy through independent data publication and policy analysis. Its core product is a publicly accessible web platform hosting six interconnected UK renewable energy databases: aggregated Renewable Electricity Totals, an individual-site Renewable Generators database covering approximately 10,000 generators subsidised under the Renewables Obligation or CfD or claiming REGOs, a Wind Farm Constraint Payments database sourced from the Balancing Mechanism, a Renewable Energy Planning database, an Electricity Fuel Mix database derived from historic BMRS data, and a FiT Generators database covering small-scale sites up to 5MW. Data spans 2002 to present and is sourced from Ofgem, Elexon (where REF is a licensed user of the BMRS market database), DECC/BEIS, and FiT/RO/REGO/LEC registries.

REF monetizes through two streams: private donations, including Gift Aid-eligible contributions, and a paid bespoke data query service delivered through its consultancy arm, Renewable Energy Forum, which provides custom analysis of largely unpublished internal databases including licensed Elexon market data and planning applications. The standard databases are free to access, with bespoke services priced on a quote basis. The customer base is horizontal — general public, academic researchers, policy makers, and a smaller set of paid bespoke enterprise clients — and the organization is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Professor Michael J. Kelly, with no corporate membership or political affiliation. In January 2025, a legacy from the estate of Mr Simon Pearson funded a full refresh of all datasets.

Name

Renewable Energy Foundation

Legal name

The Renewable Energy Foundation

Website

https://ref.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salisbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Private Donations: REF is supported entirely by private donations. No corporate membership or political affiliation.
2. Bespoke Data Query Service: Paid consultancy service offering custom data analysis from REF's extensive databases on renewable and non-renewable energy generation and planning applications, delivered through Renewable Energy Forum.
3. Gift Aid Donations: REF accepts Gift Aid declarations which enable the charity to claim tax relief from HMRC, increasing the value of eligible donations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

REF publishes six interconnected UK renewable energy databases covering approximately 5,000+ generators and 10,000+ sites with monthly performance data from 2002 to present, including Renewable Electricity Totals, Renewable Generators, Wind Farm Constraint Payments, Renewable Energy Planning, Electricity Fuel Mix, and Feed-in-Tariff Generators data. Through its consultancy arm, Renewable Energy Forum, REF offers paid bespoke data query services using its proprietary databases and licensed access to the Elexon electricity market database.

Product overview

The Renewable Energy Foundation operates a data intelligence platform providing publicly accessible databases on UK renewable energy generation. The core offering consists of six interconnected databases: Renewable Electricity Totals (aggregated statistics), Renewable Generators Database (individual site data for ~10,000 generators), Wind Farm Constraint Payments Database, Renewable Energy Planning Database, Electricity Fuel Mix Database, and FiT Generators Database (small-scale Feed in Tariff sites). These databases are supported by a Bespoke Data Service offered through the Renewable Energy Forum consultancy arm for custom analysis. The Foundation was founded in 2004 and publishes what it describes as the most comprehensive renewable energy data in the UK, covering generation from 2002 to present. Data is sourced from Ofgem, Elexon, DECC/BEIS, and the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Renewable Electricity Totals UK renewable electricity generation data aggregated by year, country, technology type and subsidy, providing capacity (MW) and energy output (MWh) statistics for the public and researchers.
• Renewable Generators Database Individual generator-level data for large-scale renewable generators subsidised by the Renewables Obligation or CfD, or claiming REGOs, covering approximately 10,000 sites with monthly performance data from 2002 to present.
• Wind Farm Constraint Payments Database Detailed records of constraint payments made to wind farms via the Balancing Mechanism to reduce output during grid constraints, including settlement period and wind farm-level data.
• Renewable Energy Planning Database Projected renewable electricity output from consented renewable electricity capacity in the UK planning system, covering operational, under construction, and planning stages.
• Electricity Fuel Mix Database British Electricity Generation Fuel Mix data derived from historic Balancing Mechanism data since 2009, showing output by fuel type (Gas, Coal, Nuclear, Hydro, Wind, Interconnectors) with graphing and percentage share options.
• FiT Generators Database Small scale renewable generators (up to 5MW) subsidised by the Feed in Tariff scheme, covering technologies including Anaerobic Digestion, Hydro, Micro CHP, Solar Photovoltaic, and Wind.
• Bespoke Data Service Custom data query service of extensive largely-unpublished databases through REF's consultancy arm, Renewable Energy Forum, including renewable and non-renewable energy generation data, planning applications, and licensed Elexon electricity market database access for enterprise clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published database covering 5,000+ renewable energy generators subsidised by the Renewables Obligation or claiming REGOs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ElexoncoreTechnology or IntegrationREF is a licensed user of the Elexon electricity market database, enabling access to Balancing Mechanism Reporting System (BMRS) data for electricity generation and trading analysis.
• Renewable Energy ForumcoreOthersREF's consultancy arm offering bespoke data query services of its extensive databases. Potential clients requiring custom data analysis can commission work through this associated entity.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cornwall Insight: UK-based energy market research and analytics firm providing data, forecasts, and policy analysis on UK renewable energy, regulation, and electricity markets. Highly comparable to REF's research and bespoke data model, though commercially driven.
• Modo Energy: Energy market analytics platform offering data products and dashboards on UK and European power markets, including renewables, balancing, and constraint data. A direct competitor in commercialising the same underlying datasets REF publishes freely.
• EnAppSys: Provides power market data, analysis, and forecasting across European electricity markets, including generation, balancing mechanism, and constraint analytics. Closely comparable to REF's BMRS-derived fuel mix and constraint payment datasets.

Others

• Green Alliance: UK environmental think tank working on energy, climate, and resource policy. Comparable to REF as an independent UK policy-influencing organization publishing research that shapes energy debate, though with a broader environmental remit.
• Elexon: Administrator of the UK Balancing and Settlement Code and operator of the BMRS data service. Functions as REF's data infrastructure partner and supplier rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same UK power market data ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Carbon Brief: UK-based website covering climate science and energy policy with original data-driven journalism, including UK power sector analysis. Comparable in mission (informed public debate on UK energy) and in using data visualization to influence policy discourse.

Regional players

• RenewableUK: UK trade association representing wind, wave, and tidal energy. Operates in the same UK renewable energy policy and data space as REF, publishing industry data and responding to consultations, but as an industry-backed body rather than an independent charity.

Broad incumbents

• National Grid ESO: UK electricity system operator publishing extensive real-time and historical generation, demand, and balancing data. Comparable as a source of underlying BMRS data REF relies on, but operates at vastly larger scale and as the regulated system operator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/renewable-energy-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Renewable Energy Foundation