DDCE’s John Taylor Promotes Community Energy to the House of Lords
Our Board member John was invited to speak to the House of Lords about their experiences with low carbon heating solutions and the boiler replacement scheme. John recounted his experiences negotiating home energy improvements with local councils and contractors and called for an increase in grant support:
”The main problem for people will be the finances. New properties are being built and they ort to automatically have heat pumps built in”
John has insulated his house extensibly, installed an air source heat pump to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and installed solar panels to generate his own green electricity. He also used the opportunity to sing the praises of community energy and Derbyshire Dales Community Energy’ plans. The House of Lords committee praised DDCE’s work which is :
‘’Leading the shift to green energy generation in the Derbyshire dales and reinvesting profits into the local community’’.
Weldone John for using this opportunity to promote community energy and DDCE to the House of Lords! What an amazing opportunity to share the vital work we’ve been doing with a captive and influential audience.
For more information on the boiler replacement scheme head to the government website :
https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme
Follow us here at our website or on twitter @DDEnergyD for updates on our project!
Cromford Mill and the Arkwright Society’s big Hydro Plans
Another group doing some amazing work are our friends at the Arkwright Society and Cromford Mills ( yet another excellent Derbyshire based renewable energy project).
Cromford Mills, built in 1771 by Sir Richard Arkwright, once boasted the world’`s first water powered cotton spinning mill. It now has plans to reinstate this water wheel to generate renewable electricity. The historic cotton spinning mill used water from the Bonsall Brook and Cromford Sough to turn three water wheels during the 18th and 19th Century. Now, that same green energy that Arkwright harnessed from the Bonsall Brook will once again provide energy and heat to the popular tourist attraction located in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site.
The Arkwright Society have successfully been able to work with funders and partners to secure funding and assist the development of the project. Severn Trent, Derbyshire County Council’s Green Entrepreneurs Fund, The Wolfson Foundation, Valliant, RCEF, Derwent Hydro and James Boon Architects are supporting Cromford Mills and the return of hydro power to the local area.
The Cromford Waterpower project will reinstate a large 6m waterwheel and install a 15kW hydro-turbine to power the mill buildings. The scheme will also include water source heat pumps to provide heating to the site and will refurbish the hydro-turbine located at the Corn Mill in Cromford Village which will offer a renewed source of renewable energy to the village. It is amazing that we can look back at historical innovations for relevant and viable solutions to our current climate crisis.
For more on Cromford Mills head over to their website:
https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/
And find out more about this project here:
https://www.cromfordmills.org.uk/hydro-power-project/
And here :
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/research-areas/energy-institute/work-with-us/case-studies/cromford-mill/the-future-of-hydroelectric-power-at-cromford-mills.aspx
Energy Garden Share Offer
Our friends at Energy Garden are having an event promoting their most recent share offer. It will be an evening to celebrate Londoners coming together to invest in the future of community-owned renewable energy.
Energy Garden supports communities to deliver gardens and solar projects on London’s railways. Combining community ownership, renewable energy generation, education and biodiversity, the Energy Garden model is innovative and exciting. To help you understand what is truly extraordinary about them, check out this article by Ethex on Energy Garden – ‘’five facts about this groundbreaking community organisation’’.
https://www.ethex.org.uk/news/5-things-you-should-know-about-energy-garden
Find out how Energy Garden is using revenues from the sale of community-owned, clean energy to fund gardens and youth training programmes in London. Join them at the London Transport Museum’s Cubic Theatre & Foyer for snacks and Energy Garden Ale, and short panel discussions on the future of community climate action. All welcome!
Sign up to the event here :
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/energy-garden-share-offer-event-tickets-451833615507
To learn more about energy Garden follow this link:
https://www.energygarden.org.uk/