Financial boost for community-led energy projects in Bristol
Knowle West Media Centre, Southmead Development Trust, and Eastside Community Trust have each been awarded a £100,000 grant through the Transforming Energy Together programme.
This funding will empower them to collaborate with residents in developing community-driven projects aimed at generating clean energy locally and reducing energy consumption in homes and neighborhoods. These initiatives are expected to lower energy costs, enhance home comfort, create green job opportunities, and attract sustainable investments within the community.
This initiative is part of Innovate UK’s Mission Net Zero project led by Bristol City Council. The project’s objective includes supporting community organizations as they engage their local populations to develop robust business cases for community-led energy endeavours.
Each of these three organizations has previously crafted climate action plans under the auspices of Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership’s Community Climate Action Project. Consequently, they possess a solid understanding of their communities’ climate priorities and viable solutions. They were selected through an open application process that sought out groups already significantly advanced in their climate action efforts while also representing diverse communities citywide.
Amy Kinnear, CEO at Southmead Development Trust says “After launching our community climate action plan in April we’re excited to be able to focus on specific priorities which our community raised. We’re looking forward to working with a partnership who understands the importance of hearing community voices and properly equipping community organisations when developing projects. Our aim is always for our projects to be strongly rooted in the Southmead community. To be resourced and supported to do that, especially on technical subjects like energy and buildings, is a great opportunity.”
Bristol has a goal to rapidly reduce its emissions that cause climate change. Community leadership and action on climate is a vital part of how the city will meet this goal in a fair way that benefits local people. Through Transforming Energy Together, communities can focus on developing projects to generate clean energy locally and on reducing energy use in homes and neighbourhoods, thereby reducing energy bills, making homes more comfortable, creating new job opportunities for local people, and generating investment at a neighbourhood level.
Councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Bristol City Council Environment and Sustainability Committee said, “The Mission Net Zero project is an important part of the approach our city is taking towards meeting our climate and sustainability goals. The funding provided by Innovate UK is welcome and essential to ensure that residents can be fully involved in planning the climate action in their local area. Working together with communities, we hope to continue to unlock further financial support that leads to the delivery of tailored climate action and the creation of green jobs to support our evolving sustainable economy.”
Stacy Yelland, CEO of Eastside Community Trust says “Eastside is proud and excited to be one of the three organisations chosen to work in partnership on the Transforming Energy Together programme. Our organisation has a long history of both working with communities and innovation in clean energy and we look forward to using those skills and experiences on this new project. This also builds on our collaboration with Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership and citywide colleagues on the Community Climate Action Project. The climate crisis is an important issue for local people, and we are excited to work closely with local people on how we can create solutions locally to this global challenge.”
Martha King, Creative Director at Knowle West Media Centre says “We are thrilled that Knowle West is part of Transforming Energy Together. The programme puts communities front and centre of generating creative and investable ideas to address the climate emergency. It opens the opportunity to go beyond one-off pilots, towards scalable, system-level change and make real progress towards a just transition for people and planet.”
The Transforming Energy Together programme, as an integral component of the broader Mission Net Zero Project, is collaboratively implemented by the Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, Centre for Sustainable Energy, and Bristol Energy Network, with crucial support from Bristol City Council. Residents within specified neighbourhoods are encouraged to participate through their local community organisations or by becoming an Energy Champion with the Bristol Energy Network.
This initiative empowers you to reduce energy bills in your own home while contributing to community-wide efforts. Additionally, a series of workshops will be held later this year for other organizations interested in city-wide sustainability initiatives. To stay informed about these opportunities and more, please consider becoming a member of the Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership.
Read more of our news from Bristol and beyond at Bristol News https://directlocalbristol.co.uk/bristol-news/
