What is People Owned Power, and why does it matter?

As POP’s crowdfund opens for investment from our community (that includes you: explore it here), we are popping the hood to share what keeps People Owned Power running.

More solid than a concept. More expansive than a company name. More than a sum of its parts. People Owned Power is our vision and mission; a goal and way of working - affirmed in our name. We are driven by our purpose, and want to make sure what that purpose is, is clear to the community backing us.

In this post, we’ll be delving into the details:

👤 People not panels: POP’s founding story

⚡ People of POP: the team building change

🤝 Street Power Champions: the people on the street

🏘️ Our community of communities: real streets, real stories

💰 Investing in POP’s journey: own a piece of progress

Want to know more about why POP is choosing to crowdfund, and why we think you should back us? ⬅️ Our recent posts are linked.

People not panels

Starting his adult life as a full-time activist, POP founder & CEO Howard Johns realised protesting only gets you so far. People need something to believe in. Change happens when you build solutions to the problems you’re protesting (we’ll feature Howard’s story in future: hear it now in this podcast, or summarised in this video).

Scaling solar systems, Howard tired of waiting for policymakers to legislate for a resilient renewable energy system that puts people’s needs ahead of energy companies profits. He built Onezero Energy to accelerate the renewable energy transition, home by home, street by street, community by community. And as they saw their neighbours benefit from taking the power into their own hands, communities believed in him, too.

Onezero eventually evolved into POP: People Owned Power (read the story here). It was the natural next step in a longstanding commitment to put people first in the energy system. We have got to this point backed by people who believe in a fairer energy future. Before it became a policy hot potato. Before it became an urgent issue. Before the cost of inaction started to rise beyond the investment in progress.

People Owned Power does what it says on the tin: putting power into people’s hands. Renewable energy systems (air source heat pumps, battery, EV chargers, insulation and solar panels) are simply the most effective tool to realise the vision, right now. You can see what renewables would look like on your home with a free estimate.

People of POP

One person does not a team make: POP is more than the sum of its CEO. POP has been built on a foundation of self-organised teams, and represents a collective of experienced and mission-engaged builders.

Our team spans a variety of skillsets: from creative endeavours to on-the-tools experience. Forged on rooftops across the UK and startups around the world. Building with communities, and at commercial scales. With a lengthy combined range of experience

Based in many of the communities we work in (Bristol, London, Manchester, Newport, and scattered across Sussex) the team aren’t just the hands keeping POP bubbling over. They’re the friendly face ready to answer your questions, solve your problems - and stick around for a natter.

People Owned Power is a sum of its parts: driven by people committed to delivering it on rooftops, at events and side-by-side with communities.

A community of champions

At publishing, we had 120 Street Power Champions in our community, who believe in POP’s pursuit of people owned power. 

These are people knocking on their neighbour’s doors (or popping up in the group chat) to spark change on their streets. Organising film screenings and batches of interested households in Oxford. Bringing the POP team to give talks and deliver live designs at community events in Bristol. They’re sharing information, holding coffee mornings to show estimates and designs, inviting people over to show-and-tell their systems.

One of the greatest hurdles to people getting renewable energy is not knowing where to start or who to trust. But one of the most common moments that kicks people into action? Seeing their neighbours have done it, it works - and it pays. The trust between two neighbours cannot be bought, nor easily replicated at scale: Street Power Champions are critical for bringing communities on the renewable journey - together.

Street Power Champions are neighbours advocating for change on their streets. People advocating that the people using energy locally should also benefit from its generation. Inspired individuals, who are as important a part of the POP team as any.

People Owned Power cannot exist in a vacuum. It’s made possible by people who believe in it enough to bring it to their homes and streets.

A community of neighbours

With each neighbour who sparks change, is a street or community cluster moved by momentum towards a more affordable and resilient energy future. 

Dan & Hillary of Lynmouth Road started by using the power of imagination to build momentum on their street. They filmed their process in POWER STATION; we came along to community meetings and to develop the second wave of installations. The street that started to snowball set the tone: 130+ streets in Walthamstow have now registered their interest with MP Stella Creasy’s office, and we’re collaborating with clusters across a dozen of them. What does it look like? Webinars for streets keen to capitalise on group discounts, impromptu surveys when neighbours see us popping over, and a presence at community meetings and events to answer questions and offer advice.

Meanwhile in Oxford, Cathie was so inspired from attending a Power Station screening, she got hold of POP postcards to get her neighbours on board. With a neighbour coming onboard to support her, they organised a screening of their own. We’re now at 43 households requesting an estimate, and counting. 

Down in Brighton, POP has been collaborating with BHESCo on new models to bring low-to-no-upfront cost solar to households. BHESCo raises the funds, POP develops the projects, and households pay a reduced energy bill to buy power generated right on their roof. 

This is what people-powered change looks like in practice. Not a product sold to a household, but a movement spreading street by street. 

A community of investors?

For us, the natural next step of empowering communities to take ownership of their power, is to invite our community to own a piece of our progress.

There’s a certain way equity crowdfunding works. The company gathers investors to pre-register interest, so the platform (we’re using Republic) can see the appetite and interest from the community. To thank that first wave, they are given a week of exclusive access - think of it like a concert pre-sale. We have just launched in private, available exclusively to people who believe in our mission. People we want on board. People like you? 

This isn’t a donation, or a share offer. You’re buying a piece of POP; participating in our next phase of growth. You can read more about why POP is choosing to crowdfund, and why we think you should back us in our recent blogs.

Investing early is how People Owned Power grows: demonstrating the power of community momentum in real-time, by the people who believe in it most.

Investing in communities over commodities

An investment in POP is more than acquiring equity in our company. It’s backing a model built on trust, building local wealth, and democratising community ownership of energy. It’s voting for a model that gets more efficient as it scales, whilst keeping community interests at the top of the agenda. This is what more accessible, affordable and fairer energy looks like. This is people owned power.

Explore the crowdfund

The power is in our hands. Join our community of investors here.

What’s the story behind POP?

POP was founded by Howard Johns, who has been building the solar industry for over 25 years. Starting as an activist, he realised building solutions was more effective than protesting against problems. First launching Onezero Energy, it later evolved to become POP: putting people first in the energy system. Read more about the story HERE.

How does the crowdfund work?

We recently published a blog on why we’re crowdfunding and how it works HERE.

Why is the community-first approach more effective than a standard solar installer?

Most installers reach customers one by one through paid advertising (spending an average of £200-800 per household). Each installation is then a standalone project with separate surveys, orders, logistics and timelines. POP cuts marketing costs through connecting, community-building, and working with trusted messengers like Street Power Champions. Our street-by-street approach is also more efficient from the consultation to surveying through to installation. We pass these savings on to our customers.

How does installing in clusters or street-by-street save money?

Every home is unique, but often homes on the same street have a lot in common (materials, age, direction they face, etc). This means a lot of the questions households have are similar, so by working with neighbours as a group we can give a greater number of people hands-on, tailored support. We then cut our travel costs and logistics by surveying streets at the same time, and coordinating installation to get trades in the same place, at the same time. We pass these savings on in our pricing, with discounts of 1% per household (up to 5%) that joins a street. (note: being in the same area but not the exact same street is also fine and still qualifies!). There’s more on our street-by-street approach in THIS POST.

What are Street Power Champions and how do they work?

Street Power Champions are community-minded people who help their neighbours start their renewables journey together. It’s POP’s way to support people who want to get their neighbours on the journey to install renewables - together. We have a blog diving into what a Street Power Champion is HERE. 

How does POP decide which communities to work in?

There’s no hard and fast rule about who POP prioritises working with, especially as we deliver direct to customers and develop projects for community buildings and public sector programmes. We’re generally looking for communities where there’s an existing infrastructure of connection - be it events, group chats, or general openness to work together. Having an anchor organisation helps, as does a financing pathway (whether it’s a share offer, funding, or households who are able to pay out of pocket or through loans). We look to collaborate, not compete, so our priority is always plugging into existing ecosystems rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Which communities does POP operate in?

POP is currently actively designing and installing in:

🌆 London: Richmond, Southfields, Tooting, Wandsworth and Walthamstow. ↘️the South East: Brighton, Forest Row, Hassocks, Oxford, Lewes, Ringmer and Steyning, ↙️the South West: Bath, Bristol, and Frome.

POP is in discussions with projects and communities in Cambridge, Dorset, Manchester, Norfolk, Nottingham, Sark, Totnes, Wales, and the Isle of Wight. 

Don’t see your area? Get in touch: we’re always open to explore new communities: hello@pop.energy 

Can I become a Street Power Champion if POP isn’t in my area yet? How do I get POP to come to my street or community?

There’s a couple of ways to get involved - but the short answer is: ask us!

📋 You can sign up as a Street Power Champion online → we’ll support you to get started

💻 Join our next call to make Every Street a Power Station → we’ll walk you through the ways to get involved

📨 Send us an email to hello@pop.energy or reach out through our contact form → we’ll figure out a way forward, together

Is POP a community energy company? How does POP work with community energy companies?

Community energy organisations generally focus on large shared assets (think solar panels on buildings like schools, community centres or places of worship, or even bigger: wind turbines, solar farms, and more) that can generate income for a co-operative that invests in these projects through share offers. POP develops renewable projects with homes, street by street, so the benefits are immediate and personal: lower bills, increased energy security and building community wealth. We do work with community energy partners, like our Preston Park project with BHESCo, where a community-funded share offer gave households low-to-no-upfront cost solar, or installing projects on community centres.

Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Republic Europe does not make investment recommendations to you and any investment decision should be made on the basis of the full campaign. No communications from Republic Europe, through email or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation.

Approved by Republic Europe on 02/06/2026.

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