Knowledge: Community energy
Funding offered to bring energy
to local communities
T
welve groups around Bristol have
been offered a total of £53,193
to undertake a range of energy
projects in local communities.
The grants will be awarded by the city council
through its Bristol Community Energy Fund,
an initiative encouraging local solutions for
community specific energy challenges.
The successful projects were picked from
32 submissions by a judging panel made up
of Bristol City Council representatives and
community leaders, along with local energy
partners such as Bristol Energy Network,
Age UK Bristol, Bristol Disability Equality
Forum, Black South West Network, Bristol
Energy Co-operative, UWE and Quartet
Community Foundation.
The newly formed panel met for the
first time last month and local projects were
chosen on the basis of their potential to
support local people to:
• Reduce energy use
• Move towards cleaner and
renewable sources of energy
• Take measures that can help meet
their energy needs affordably.
The grant programme is targeted at
not-for-profit organisations based and working
in the Bristol area. Non-energy related groups
are encouraged to apply to broaden the reach
of energy projects to new communities,
resulting in applications from numerous
equalities-led groups, community groups
and even a primary school.
The judging panel prioritised submissions
by equalities-led groups or organisations
working in partnership with them, as well as
proposals by groups representing communities
most affected by energy issues, such as fuel
poverty, older or disabled people, BME and
migrant communities. These are groups which
have historically been under-represented in
the energy movement.
One of the first projects to receive funding
is being led by Bristol Playbus, a local charity
that will add solar panels to its ‘Sensory Truck’,
a mobile sensory environment for children
with a disability or life-limiting illness. The
solar panels will mean that the equipment on
the truck can work without the use of diesel
generators and help the young people to get
a better understanding of renewable energy
while also reducing carbon emissions.
Mareike Schmidt, Energy Service
Manager at Bristol City Council and chair of
the judging panel, said: “We’re working hard
to create a community energy movement in
the city – an inclusive approach to support
and enhance the activities of the local energy
scene. Energy is still considered a distant issue
for many people but affects us in different
ways – whether it’s fuel poverty or a desire
to use cleaner energy. The role of community
groups is so important in addressing the
specific needs of particular groups and this
is why we’re so pleased to see such a broad
range of groups engaging with energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects
through the Bristol Community Energy Fund.
“We’ve had so many excellent projects
put forward across the city that it was really
hard to decide between them. We’ll be
running another round of funding in the
coming weeks to give those projects that
were unsuccessful a second chance to
develop their bids further and try again. We
hope to see lots of new groups apply too as
there’s so much potential to improve the lives
of our communities through their relationship
with energy.”
Bristol City Council launched the fund
in November 2015, calling for a first round
of project proposals in February 2016.
Local groups were encouraged to submit
applications by the end of March to receive
grants of up to £10,000.
Another key element of the Bristol
Community Energy Fund currently in
development is the offer of loans for the
development costs of new renewable energy
projects. The council will be announcing the
loan offer later in 2016.
Seed-funding was provided by the
Department of Energy and Climate Change to
kick-start the Bristol Community Energy Fund.
One of the next steps for the council will be to
reach out for additional contributions to grow
the pot of money available for local projects.
The council is working towards becoming a
model for national best practice for community
energy. This includes the development of
an online platform for sharing tools and
techniques and a national conference to
engage and support other local authorities in
establishing community energy movements
elsewhere across the country.
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