The Highlights of Community Energy Fortnight
Community Energy Fortnight, hosted by Network members the Community Energy Coalition, kicks off on 5th September. We catch up with the CEC team for a round-up of this year’s highlights.
Community-owned energy brings a whole host of benefits, from job creation to energy security, and a reduction in carbon emissions. Perhaps most importantly, those benefits can be realised by local communities themselves, and this helps to engage people with the source of their energy – which is crucial if we’re going to achieve behaviour change at the scale needed to make a real dent in our energy consumption.
This September we’ll be celebrating these community projects and all the benefits they bring, showcasing community energy schemes across the country for the 2015 Community Energy Fortnight, hosted by the Community Energy Coalition in association with Co-operative Energy. We’d love you to join us at some events – there will be chances for you to explore how others are saving and generating energy in their homes and businesses, visit sites including a solar powered mosque, or get training and advice to help make some plans of your own. Here are a few of this year’s highlights
|
Community Energy Conference 2015 – New Government, New Dawn?
5th September, Oxford
Marking the opening of the Community Energy Fortnight, this  conference will explore the impact of the new Government.
See more details.
|
| Community Power Workshop9th September, London
 Local decision-makers and energy agencies are invited to participate in this free workshop on community energy, local governments and financial models.
See more details.
|
| Saddleworth Community Hydro Open Day12th September, Oldham
Visit the first high head system in England to use an existing dam. It generates enough sustainable electricity to power about 75 homes via the national grid, with an annual saving of 170 tonnes of CO2.
See more details.
|
| Powering the City12th September, York
 An opportunity to hear from successful community energy groups about technology including wind, solar and hydro as well as models such as council-community partnerships.
See more details.
|
| 100% renewable energy for the South West14th September, Truro
 Dr John Green will be presenting a report from the Resilience Centre, commissioned by Molly Scott Cato, MEP, which indicates that all the energy needs of the south west region can be met from renewable sources.
See more details.
|
| Community Energy in Wales – The Way forward15th September, Cardiff
 At this formal launch of their membership offer, Community Energy Wales explore the potential of community energy in Wales and suggestions on how to move forward.
See more details.
|
To see the full list of events during the Fortnight and to see what’s happening in your area, visit our website. Keep up with the latest information by following @ukcec or #CEF15 on Twitter.
If you would like to run an event, or help us with promoting the Fortnight, please email us at communityenergy@forumforthefuture.org.
—–
The Community Energy Coalition is made up of influential and trusted civic society organisations, such as Co-operative Energy, the National Trust, the National Union of Students and the Church of England, all convened by sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future. Founded in 2011, these organisations have been working together tirelessly to achieve their shared vision of community energy at scale in the UK by 2020.
Banner image © Andy Cantlon