Our history
The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) came into being in 1979, though in those days we were called the Urban Centre for Appropriate Technology (UCAT) and we operated as part of the Centre for Alternative Technology.
We’ve always been based in Bristol with strong roots in the community.
UCAT was registered as a separate company and a separate charity in 1988, and during the early 1990s we also set up Bristol Energy Centre as a trading company.
Our early work spanned education, research, consultancy, energy advice and training. We also helped to establish an energy services company. The core areas of our early work remain central to our activities today.
Change of name
In 1994 we changed our name to the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
Around the same time we set up one of the first local energy advice services in the UK. This later became the model for a government funded national network of energy advice centres.
From 2002 to 2022, CSE was led by Simon Roberts OBE. He helped build the organisation into effective and influential organisation it is today. Under his leadership, the charity grew from 25 to more than 120 staff. And our annual turnover rose from about £1.2m to nearly £7m.
When CSE started, the UK’s output of renewable energy was tiny (around 2%) and fossil fuels dominated our centralised electricity system. The top environmental issues on the public and political radar were acid rain and the ozone layer, with climate change a long way behind.
We’ve come a long way. But CSE’s work remains more valid than ever – to tackle an energy market that is failing fuel-poor customers, and to enable fairness in the transition to a clean, green energy system.
Back in the day …
The photo gallery below features the Future City Home (probably around 1981). UCAT had renovated the house which was open to the public to show practical energy efficiency in action in a city environment.
