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Dale Vince

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Dale Vince
OBE
Born (1961-08-29) 29 August 1961 (age 63)[1]
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
OccupationEnergy industrialist
Years active1995–present
Known forOwner of Ecotricity; chairman/owner of Forest Green Rovers
Spouses
Kathleen Wyatt
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 1992)​
[2]
Kate Lane
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2024)​
[3]
Children3[4][5]
Websitedalevince.com

Dale Vince (born 29 August 1961) is a British green energy industrialist.[6] A former New Age traveller,[7] he is the owner of the electricity company Ecotricity.[8] Born in Norfolk, he founded the Renewable Energy Company in 1995 and launched his first wind turbine in 1996. He also creates artificial diamonds using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and renewable energy.

Vince became a major shareholder and chairman of semi-professional football club Forest Green Rovers in 2010, implementing eco-friendly initiatives and turning it into the world's first all-vegan football club. The team was recognised as the world's first carbon-neutral football club. At the end of the 2023–24 season, Forest Green Rovers were relegated back into non-league football.

Vince was appointed OBE in 2004 and received an honorary degree in 2013. He faced a financial claim court case from his ex-wife, which was settled in 2016. Vince has donated to both the Labour Party and the Green Party and endorsed politicians from both parties in general elections. In 2022 his net worth was estimated at £107 million.[9]

Early life

[edit]

Vince was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, the second of three children to parents who ran a Fenland haulage firm. Leaving school at 15, he spent time as a New Age traveller.[10][11]

In 1980, Vince participated in the occupation of RAF Molesworth after it was chosen as a base for the US Air Force's mobile nuclear armed Ground Launched Cruise Missile. He was also one of the new age travellers present at the Battle of the Beanfield at Stonehenge in 1985.[7]

Career

[edit]

In 1991, Vince saw his first windfarm ("I thought, either I can carry on by myself with the windmill on my van, or I can get into the big stuff")[12] and, in 1995, he founded the Renewable Energy Company, which eventually changed its name to Ecotricity.[13] In 1996, he launched his first wind turbine supplying "green electricity".[14] The following year, he attended the conference in Kyoto, Japan that produced the Kyoto Protocol.[15]

In November 2010, Vince debuted Nemesis, which has been described by The Guardian and Telegraph as "Britain's first green supercar."[16][17] Nemesis is a modified Lotus Exige owned and developed by Vince.[16] The car broke the UK land speed record for electric vehicles in September 2012, averaging 151.6mph (244km/h) while traveling along a mile-long course.[18]

In 2012, Vince founded the Green Britain Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to the protection of the natural environment and the promotion of physical recreation.[19][20] That same year, Vince helped establish the Electric Superhighway, a network of electric vehicle charging stations positioned along Britain's motorways. He sold the network to Gridserve in 2021.[21]

In 2019, Vince founded Devil's Kitchen, a company that provides vegan meals to schools and colleges.[22] As of 2024, the company was serving approximately one in four British primary schools.[23] He published his first book, Manifesto, in 2020.[24] Manifesto went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller in April 2023.[25]

In October 2020, The Guardian reported that Vince had plans to create artificial diamonds by chemical vapor deposition using "carbon dioxide captured directly from the atmosphere to form the diamonds – which are chemically identical to diamonds mined from the earth – using wind and solar electricity, with water collected from rainfall."[26] This plan was realized as a company called SkyDiamond, which produced its first 15 diamonds in December 2021 and released a full jewelry line in October 2022.[27]

In April 2022, Vince announced he planned to sell Ecotricity and go into politics. He said part of the reason was that a new owner "can achieve even more, faster. We've got a massive pipeline of projects that need to be built requiring £2 billion of investment." As well as developing his interest in politics, he would focus on renewable projects such as tidal lagoons and geothermal energy.[28][29] In November of the same year, he said that he had halted plans to sell the company.[30]

In June 2023, Vince announced plans to implement an "eco-curriculum" across 12,000 UK schools by 2025 through his Ministry of Eco Education. The curriculum, which seeks to teach students about the natural world and the climate crisis, had previously been tested in a pilot program featuring 25 schools in 2022.[31] In July 2023, Vince announced the founding of Ecojet, an airline featuring planes powered by hydrogen-derived electricity.[32] Ecojet's first flights are scheduled to take place in 2025.[33]

Football

[edit]
Jeremy Corbyn and Vince at Forest Green Rovers Football Club in December 2019

In 2010, Vince became a major shareholder of Forest Green Rovers FC,[34] and three months later was appointed club chairman.[35] In February 2011, Rovers players were banned from eating red meat for health reasons,[clarification needed] and a few weeks later the sale of all red meat products was banned at the club's ground, leaving only vegetarian options and free-range poultry and fish from sustainable stocks.[36]

Vince introduced a number of different eco-friendly developments at the club including the installation of solar panels[37] on its New Lawn home ground, the use of a solar-powered robot grass mower,[38] and the creation of the world's first organic football pitch.[39] In September 2015, Vince revealed Forest Green were using a player recruitment method similar to the 'Moneyball' model that had been initially used in baseball to sign players by using computer-generated analysis.[40] In October 2015, Forest Green became the world's first all vegan football club.[41][42]

In 2021, the team became the first in the world to play in a football kit made from a composite material consisting of recycled plastic and coffee grounds.[43]

The United Nations has recognised Forest Green Rovers as the world's first carbon-neutral football club and it was described by FIFA as the "greenest team in the world".[43][44] In 2024, Forest Green lost their Football League status after suffering two successive relegations.

Honours

[edit]

Vince was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 New Year Honours for "services to the Environment and to the Electricity Industry".[45]

In 2013, he was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Gloucestershire.[46]

Personal life

[edit]

Vince is a vegan.[1]

While studying, Vince met and married Kathleen Wyatt, two years his senior and with a child of her own, in 1981. The couple subsequently became New Age travellers together, living off state benefits. They had a son together, Dane, in 1983.[47] They separated some years later, and Wyatt reportedly raised the couple's son largely alone thereafter. They divorced in 1992.[2]

Speaking on BBC Points West News on 2 June 2025, Vince recalled being present at the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985.

First divorce and financial claim court case

[edit]

After Vince had made his fortune, Wyatt, who had lived what was later described in court as "16 years of real hardship", lodged a financial claim of £1.9 million against Vince in 2011, nearly 20 years after their divorce.

The Court of Appeal rejected the claim, stating it had "no real prospect of success" and was an "abuse of process".[2] However, in March 2015 the Supreme Court set aside this decision, ruling that there was no time limit in law for claims for financial provision, and the claim could progress in the High Court.[48] Lord Wilson said the court must have regard "to the contribution of each party to the welfare of the family, including by looking after the home or caring for the family", but the claim only had a prospect of "comparatively modest success" with a £1.9 million payout "out of the question".[2]

In a statement, Vince branded the court's decision as "mad". "I feel that we all have a right to move on, and not be looking over our shoulders. This could signal open season for people who had brief relationships a quarter of a century ago".[49] Prior to the case settlement, Vince paid the legal costs for both parties, of over £500,000, as divorce law permits costs to be charged to the combined resources of both parties.[48][50]

In 2016, the case was settled when Vince agreed to pay £300,000 to Wyatt. He commented that the case had been "a terrible waste of time and money". He stated the settlement barely covered Wyatt's legal fees which he had already paid prior to the settlement. He then repeated his opinion that he was "...disappointed that the supreme court decided not to throw out the case, given it was brought over 30 years since the relationship ended" before adding, "There clearly needs to be a statute of limitations for divorce cases – a time limit beyond which a claim cannot be made. Such a thing exists in commercial law for good practical reasons."[51]

Second marriage and divorce

[edit]

Vince married Kate Lane, who worked at Ecotricity, in 2006; they have a son.[3]

They divorced in 2024, and on 20 December 2024, the High Court ordered Dale Vince to pay Kate Vince £43.51 million over three annual instalments in a financial settlement related to his businesses, of which he retained ownership. The combined legal bill was about £6 million. Vince stated he had offered £50 million in settlement earlier, and the rejection of that had resulted in numerous court hearings and acrimony with a smaller settlement. They had separated in 2022, and had previously divided their non-business assets, on a broadly equal basis of about £5 million each.[3][52]

Politics

[edit]

Vince has made donations to both the Labour Party and the Green Party.[14] Prior to the 2015 UK general election, he was one of several 'celebrities' who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas.[53] He endorsed the Labour Party in the 2019 general election.[54]

He has made donations to various Labour Party MPs, as well as environmental protest groups, such as Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.[55]

Forest Green raised the Palestinian flag during a match in April 2022 "in solidarity with the Palestinian people". Vince said "Palestine has been under siege by Israel - by air land and sea, for decades. The US allows this, pumps billions into Israel to support its economy and military and uses its veto to block any meaningful action by the UN". He said the West's position in relation to Palestine "stands in stark contradiction to 'our' claims to moral superiority, civilization and democratic values". Vince has been described as "anti-Israel" and "anti-Zionist" by The Jerusalem Post, which wrote that he was using the club "as a means to promote his anti-Israel agenda".[56]

On Times Radio, in the immediate aftermath of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Vince stated that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" when asked about Hamas. Angela Rayner said Vince's remark was "appalling". Vince said his remark was taken from a doctored video clip and that, in the same interview, he had agreed that Hamas were terrorists and Israel had a right to defend itself.[57]

In July 2024, Vince sued ownership of the political blog Guido Fawkes for libel, claiming that the site implied he supported Hamas by circulating a clip of the Times Radio interview that featured only the "freedom fighter" remark with no additional context.[58] The Daily Mail,[59] GB News,[58] and Tory MP Michael Fabricant[60] apologised to Vince for advancing similar mischaracterisations of his views. The Daily Mail and GB News also paid Vince legal damages.[58] In February 2025, Paul Staines, the founding editor of Guido Fawkes, agreed to pay £9,995 in damages in order to settle the libel suit against him.[61] Vince has expressed his intention to donate the damages awarded in these suits to Palestinian charities.[62][59]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Flintoff, John-Paul (27 May 2011). "Power to the people: Dale Vince, green energy pioneer". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Bingham, John (11 March 2015). "Delayed divorce battle: Ecotricity founder Dale Vince's New Age traveller ex-wife wins cash fight". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Blackhurst, Chris (21 January 2025). "The real-life 'Split': Inside Dale Vince's messy 'super-rich' divorce battle". The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  4. ^ Carter, Claire (22 April 2013). "Eco millionaire fights ex-wife's claim for maintenance 20 years after divorce". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  5. ^ Butter, Susannah (17 April 2015). "Dale Vince: 'I don't consider I was married other than I signed a piece of paper'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  6. ^ "The TH Interview: Dale Vince of Ecotricity". TreeHugger. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b Bassett, Kate (18 June 2009). "Dale Vince: 'The police should be better than us'". Real Business. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020.
  8. ^ "About this blog". Zerocarbonista. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  9. ^ Gadd, Helen (1 April 2022). "What is Dale Vince's net worth and which companies does he own?". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  10. ^ Andrew Davidson (3 August 2009). 1000 CEOs. Dorling Kindersley Limited. pp. 383–. ISBN 978-1-4053-3467-9.
  11. ^ Grover, Sami (5 September 2013). "How an 'Off-Grid' Hippie Built a Wind Energy Empire". Treehugger. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  12. ^ Arnott, Sarah (31 March 2011). "Dale Vince: Tilting at windmills: how to turn the UK green". The Independent. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  13. ^ D'Urso, Joey (21 July 2023). "How League Two owners made their money: Hollywood, cryptocurrency and the Class of '92". The Athletic. Retrieved 31 January 2025. [Vince] founded the Renewable Energy Company in 1995 with a single wind turbine, which rapidly expanded and has since changed its name to Ecotricity.
  14. ^ a b Rankin, Jennifer (10 February 2015). "Ecotricity gives £250,000 to Labour amid 'existential threat' from Tories". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  15. ^ Butcher, Mike (14 September 2013). "He's Electric — Will A Revolutionary Black Box Turn Dale Vince Into Europe's Elon Musk?". TechCrunch. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b Vidal, John (5 November 2010). "'Smashing the Noddy stereotype' – UK's first green supercar takes to the roads". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  17. ^ Norton, Jim (18 December 2024). "The vegan wind-farm owner who wants to shape Starmer's politics". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  18. ^ "'Nemesis' electric car breaks UK land-speed record". BBC. 27 September 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  19. ^ "Green Britain Foundation". charitycommission.gov.uk. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  20. ^ "Green Britain Foundation Financial Statements". charitycommission.gov.uk. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  21. ^ Loveridge, Ashley (9 June 2021). "Ecotricity chief Dale Vince sells motorway EV charging network to Gridserve". Stroud Times. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  22. ^ Watson, Sarah Phaedre (11 March 2019). "Dale Vince on why he's launching vegan food in schools, and what he's up to next". Stroud News & Journal. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  23. ^ Wheeler, Brian (23 September 2024). "Scrap law making schools serve meat, urges Labour donor". Stroud News & Journal. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  24. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (3 March 2024). "Dale Vince: 'Money hasn't changed me. It's changed what I can do'". The Times. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  25. ^ "The Sunday Times Bestsellers, General Paperbacks". The Sunday Times. 2 April 2023. p. 30.
  26. ^ Ambrose, Jillian (30 October 2020). "Ecotricity founder to grow diamonds 'made entirely from the sky'". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  27. ^ Liu, Ming (22 January 2023). "Diamonds Are in the Air". New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  28. ^ Walsh, Dominic; Humphries, Will (1 April 2022). "Ecotricity founder Dale Vince to sell company and go into politics". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  29. ^ Hughes, Janet (1 April 2022). "Dale Vince and that Ecotricity shock that wasn't an April Fool". Gloucestershire Live. Reach. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  30. ^ Wood, David (1 November 2022). "Dale Vince halts Ecotricity sale". Gloucester Punchline. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  31. ^ Diver, Tony; Gill, Oliver (3 June 2023). "Labour donor and Just Stop Oil backer plots 'eco-curriculum' across 12,000 schools". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  32. ^ Lawson, Alex (16 July 2023). "Green energy tycoon to launch UK's first electric airline". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  33. ^ Perry, Dominic. "Ecojet delays launch until 2025 but insists it is building for the long term". Flight Global. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  34. ^ "ENERGY firm Ecotricity will today confirm they are joining forces with Forest Green Rovers". This is Gloucestershire. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  35. ^ "Dale Vince becomes Forest Green chairman". BBC Sport. 9 October 2010.
  36. ^ "Burger ban begins at Forest Green Rovers football club". BBC News. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  37. ^ "Forest Green Rovers football club installs solar panels". BBC News. 4 December 2011.
  38. ^ "Robot lawn mower used by Forest Green Rovers football club". BBC News. 21 April 2012.
  39. ^ "Forest Green Rovers spread manure on football pitch". BBC News. 15 June 2011.
  40. ^ "Dale Vince: Forest Green Rovers using 'Moneyball' model". BBC Sport. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  41. ^ "Football club goes vegan in world first". BBC News. 31 October 2015.
  42. ^ Corless, Liam (7 November 2015). "Forest Green top of the league after becoming 'world's first' football club to go entirely vegan". Mirror Online.
  43. ^ a b Moore, Rowan (28 March 2021). "Soy of the Rovers: the vegan football club kickstarting a green revolution". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Forest Green Rovers named 'greenest football club in world'". BBC News Online. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  45. ^ "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 13.
  46. ^ "University Announces Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships". University of Gloucestershire. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  47. ^ Orr, Deborah (13 March 2015). "Dale Vince 'moved on' from caring for his child – that's not what divorce is for". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  48. ^ a b Bowcott, Owen (12 March 2015). "Woman wins right to seek money from ex-husband 30 years after breakup". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  49. ^ "Woman could win cash payout 20 years after divorce". BBC News. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  50. ^ "Dale Vince divorce ruling 'like cashing in old lottery ticket'". BBC. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  51. ^ Press Association (10 June 2016). "Ecotricity founder calls for time limit on divorce payout claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  52. ^ "Dale Andrew Vince v Kate Vince". The National Archives. 20 December 2024. [2024] EWFC 389. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  53. ^ Elgot, Jessica (24 April 2015). "Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  54. ^ Labour: By The Many [@LabourByTheMany] (6 December 2019). "The South West is rich in solar, wind, marine & geothermal energy. It also has the poorest regions in the UK! Here's @DaleVince owner of @ecotricity on why @UKLabour has his vote to tackle the climate crisis #GreenIndustrialRevolution #ByTheMany" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  55. ^ Coates, Sam. "Westminster Accounts: Labour and Starmer have accepted thousands from major Just Stop Oil donor". Sky News. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  56. ^ Spungin, Tal (26 April 2022). "Who is Dale Vince, the anti-Zionist owner of the 'world's greenest football club'?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  57. ^ Daly, Patrick (14 March 2024). "Labour donor Dale Vince's comments about Hamas were appalling, says Rayner". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  58. ^ a b c Waterson, Jim (2 July 2024). "Dale Vince sues Guido Fawkes owner for libel over Hamas claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  59. ^ a b Parke, Callum (24 February 2025). "Daily Mail publisher to pay £40k to Dale Vince over false claim he supports Hamas". The Independent. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  60. ^ "Lichfield MP apologises to businessman after social media post". LichfieldLive. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  61. ^ Quinn, Ben (26 February 2025). "Labour donor Dale Vince claims libel victory over false pro-Hamas claim". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  62. ^ Ponsford, Dominic (31 March 2025). "Guido Fawkes owner Paul Staines pays £75,000 libel case costs to Dale Vince". PressGazette. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
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