The Community Renewable Energy Project Award has been won by a Gower-based organisation, Gower Regeneration Ltd. The award, sponsored by the Renewable Energy Association, is given to:“The most commendable sustainable electricity generation project undertaken by a community group across Wales and England.” The project, Wales’s first community-owned solar farm, has 3,658 solar panels and is based on top of an old coal mine and next to a school. It produces enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 300 homes, and all profits – estimated at more than £500,000 through the 30-year life of the project – will be reinvested in other eco-projects and education about sustainable development.
Co-operative News 8th Nov 2017 read more »
The scheme, borne out of retailer Marks & Spencer’s wide-ranging ‘Plan A’ sustainability initiative, has been established to help local communities adopt renewable energy projects. The third iteration of the scheme invited applications in May and, following a public voting and judging process, M&S Energy this morning announced its raft of winners. A total of 25 winners were announced, four of which were picked by an independent judging panel with the rest selected by public vote. Berkshire Women’s Aid was one of the four projects to receive judge’s prize funding of £12,000 to help install rooftop solar at its accommodation in Reading, enabling the charity to save money on its energy bills that can be reinvested into other areas. Meanwhile a community energy co-operative in the village of Forest Row, East Sussex, will receive £7,800 towards solar and battery storage schemes in its local area. Of the 21 regional winners, a total of nine projects incorporated either solar PV or battery storage into their designs, some including both. They include solar installations at Weldman Hospicecare in Dorset, St Michael’s Hospice in Herefordshire, Swannington C of E Primary School in Leicestershire, the Cardiff Deaf Centre, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and the Learn for Life Enterprise centre in South Yorkshire, which is also installing battery storage.
Solar Portal 10th Nov 2017 read more »
