Paul Phare studied engineering at UWE in Bristol and has been working in the community energy sector since 2003.  He was involved with the first community owned wind farm in Scotland on the Isle of Gigha which won the prestigious Ashden Award.  Paul continued to support the development of charitable community energy projects in Scotland until 2008 when he joined Energy4All as Development Manager.

Paul first delivered shared ownership co-operatives in Scotland and then, after moving to Edinburgh in 2012, he became a founding member of the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op, a partnership with City of Edinburgh Council.  The co-op delivered solar panels on 36 roofs around the city in two phases and was the largest community project of its kind at the time.  Paul is also a founding member and director of Rumbling Bridge Community Hydro Society, a 500kW project in Perthshire.

Staying with Energy4All, Paul moved back to Bristol in 2015 where he continues working on community energy projects, notably working with Bristol Energy Network on the City Leap Project.