Community Energy Fortnight
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Published 10 Jul 2024 in Raising Awareness
To mark Community Energy Fortnight, we’re celebrating the great work being done by our partners at Younity, our joint venture with Octopus, which is focused on supporting the community energy sector.
This includes announcing the latest winners of the Powering Communities Fund, all of which will receive funding grants of up to £3,750 to support ongoing initiatives to engage local people in community energy projects. These include:
North Kensington Community Energy – established in 2018, the initiative has been working to make Kensington & Chelsea a greener and fairer borough by installing community-owned solar panels. With the funding, the group will also be delivering in-depth education workshops called ‘Voyage to Repower’, to help young people who aren’t in education or employment into green jobs.
Energy Garden – an initiative which started as a small garden installed at Brondesbury Park station in 2012 has grown into a significant scheme which has delivered several community energy projects across London. Their Youth Training Programme started in 2015 and has equipped hundreds of children across the capital with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their careers – and the new funding will support them to continue to do this.
Awel Aman Tawe – a community energy charity which has been supporting communities in Wales to be more aware of and resilient to climate change for almost three decades. It has increased the capacity of rooftop solar energy across more than 90 sites including schools, community buildings and businesses. It will be using the funding to deliver 12 workshops on topics ranging from digital literacy to household repairs in Cwmgors.
REWIRED – set up in 2011 to produce wind power for the Orkney islands of Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre, the project now generates approximately 3.5 megawatts of electricity each year. The funding will be used to help the initiative gain access to donated materials, tools and other necessary items which will aid its work on the islands.
To help even more people get involved in community energy, beyond the Powering Communities Fund, Younity has launched a new Community Energy Connect platform. Its purpose is two-fold – it aims to bring together volunteers who wish to use their skills to help the community energy movement but will also allow groups to search for experts to support their needs to take their projects to the next level.
Through Co-op Energy, we are the only energy provider to offer a tariff which is backed by 100% community-generated renewables. Younity purchases the electricity generated from community energy groups and it is allocated to Co-op Energy’s Community Power Tarriff. Overall, we now have 275 Power Purchasing Agreements across the length and breadth of the UK.
Michaela Cryar, Director of Younity, said: “Our goal at Younity is to support our partners to develop or grow their projects and ultimately help them to consistently generate renewable energy for their own communities, as well as educate all ages on the difference this will make to the planet.
“The Powering Communities Fund does exactly this and it’s great to be able to announce our latest winners. Across the six rounds of funding, we have distributed more than £65,000 in grants to 21 different groups or projects across the UK. Community Energy one of the most important ways that we, as a society, can do good together and counter the impacts of climate change.”
To learn more about Younity and community energy, please visit the website here.