Community

Energy Update
April 2013

From the Centre for Sustainable Energy

For further support
Visit www.cse.org.uk/communities or email communities@cse.org.uk. And for the best tools and guides, go to TheSource: www.cse.org.uk/thesource. Nearly 350 people follow us on Twitter. Were at www.twitter.com/@cse_communities

1 | The latest CSE news ...

Open Homes support
Over the next year, CSE and Bristol Green Doors, with funding from DECC, will be providing support and funding for green open homes events through the National Open Homes Network. The project will help community groups across the country who want to showcase energy efficient homes in their area. It will include funding for groups planning open homes days, development of an online platform, and a range of resources and support to help groups to take plans forward and learn from others who are doing the same thing. Details at www.cse.org.uk/projects/view/1211.

And this is what we did ...

Bristol & Somerset Community Energy Forum 2013

Come and join us at the Bristol and Somerset Community Energy Forum on Saturday 11 May at the Genesis Centre in Taunton. The event will feature talks and workshops from CSE staff and guest speakers covering a range of topics to educate and inspire your energy project. See www.communityenergyforum.eventbrite.co.uk for more details and to book a place. If you have any queries email communities@cse.org.uk.

We love the Genesis Centre, an award winning sustainable building in the heart of Somerset College

Photo from Hattie Hartmans blog at www.AJFootprint.com. Follow @HattieHartman on Twitter

2 | Local news...
The latest on the Community Energy Strategy for Bristol
Have you been involved in the Community Energy Strategy for Bristol? Two open workshops have been held so far, and the strategy is currently being written collaboratively through an online wiki at https://sites.google.com/site/benwiki4/home. The aim is for community groups and organisations in Bristols community energy sector to work together to develop the strategy, identify synergies, and progress the five core themes. The strategy will be launched during Big Green Week from 15-23 June.

Secretary of State Edward Davey, and CSEs Simon Roberts

Minister visits CSE and Bristol Energy Network Lets Go Solar: more time to apply ...
Households in Bristol are invited to apply for an offer that means solar thermal panels could be reduced in cost by around 50%, with the scheme now extended until the end of June. Furthermore if you recommend a friend or neighbour who then signs up and installs you can earn 20. For more details see www.ashleyvale.org.uk or e-mail letsgosolar@ashleyvale.org.uk.

In a recent visit to Bristol, Edward Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, met with CSE and Bristol City Council staff as well as a number of representatives of the local energy sector including Jake Barnes of Bristol Energy Network. Mr Davey took part in a small roundtable discussion about various local energy projects and broader plans to shape Bristols energy future, and Jake was impressed with Mr Daveys support and enthusiasm for community energy strategy. He had the opportunity to highlight some important achievements and goals of the network. Read more about the Secretary of States visit at www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1727 and at www.bristolenergynetwork.org/content/networkparticipates-ministerial-visit.

Interested in monitoring and evaluation methods for your projects?

The Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford is interested in holding a workshop in the area in the coming months to discuss monitoring and evaluation of community group activity and outline the resources available to help. If youd be interested in taking part in this then please contact us at communities@cse.org.uk or jo.hamilton@ouce.ox.ac.uk.

Free training with Barefoot coaching

Community groups are invited to take part in four free training courses in Taunton in May and June. The topics covered are: Influencing change in your community Managing your community groups money Generating income for your group Project planning The flyer sent out with this newsletter contains more details, or email lynne.miller@knightstone.co.uk

Why not check out the new improved Ecojam website for all things local, green and ethical in Bristol | www.ecojam.org

3 | And useful links ...

Grants available in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire Council is offering small grants for voluntary organisations to develop local projects and activities to enhance and improve the local area. Up to 3,000 is available and applications open on Monday 29 April for six weeks. Go to http://tinyurl.com/brvlnlv for more details.

Locality support with neighbourhood planning

Locality is providing support and grants to help hundreds of areas across the country create neighbourhood plans, with a 9.5m fund available. The Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning programme will officially launch on 1 May 2013. Groups will be able to bid for up to 7,000 to support their plan. See http://mycommunityrights.org.uk/neighbourhoodplanning for more details of how to apply.

Green Architecture Day

If youre interested in eco-building design and construction why not head along to the annual Green Architecture Day on Saturday 27 April in Brighton. Hosted by Brighton Permaculture Trust, the event features designers, practitioners and professionals who will showcase cutting edge sustainable building techniques for aspiring self builders. Details and bookings from www.brightonpermaculture.org.uk/gad.

Resource of the month

Some of our original PlanLoCaL resources have been updated including this introductory exercise for thinking about energy use in your community and what opportunities there might be to reduce energy use and generate renewable energy: Setting the scene: discussing the energy use of our community | www.planlocal.org.uk/planlocalcommunity-renewables/download_file/2 Note that some links to online documents included in the printed version of our PlanLoCaL resources may no longer work. This is because DECC has relocated its online resources to www.gov.uk/decc Have you checked out our full range of resources at www.planlocal.org.uk?

Video of the month

This new video from Community Energy Scotland showcases some Scottish community renewable energy installations and gives the stories behind the projects as told by the groups involved. Worth a watch if youre considering community owned renewables: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QtvyrQHJQE

New fund for research

The Chesshire Lehmann Fund has been established with the primary objective of supporting young academics and community groups wishing to undertake research into the relationship between fuel poverty and energy efficiency. There are two funding streams. The first is up to a maximum of 5,000 for academic research, and the second up to 2,000 for a researcher or academic institution to assist a community group with evaluation. See www.chesshire-lehmann.co.uk.

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The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is a national charity that helps people change the way they think and act on energy