The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said: “This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.”
Our local community organisation Sustainable Hockerton is hoping to expand. It has had a successful few year generating energy with the local communities support. It is run by local people that volunteer their time to direct the society. The society has been operating since 2009 initially putting up a community owned wind turbine that you may have seen if you have been here as it operates on the outskirts of Hockerton. It has subsequently bought and installed three photovoltaic roof mounted systems helping local business to reduce their carbon impact and electricity bills. The income made by Sustainable Hockerton is generated from the sale of electricity and any profit made is distributed locally to support sustainable developments. This can cover many things from funding LED light bulbs to running educational workshops on saving energy or doing heat camera surveys of houses to improve their energy performance. As an organisation they want to do more.
So what are they offering?
We want to help businesses in Southwell and the surrounding area to install photovoltaic panels on their roofs to reduce carbon impact, reduce energy bills and support the local community. To make a big impact they are particularly interested in helping business properties with large rooves and high electricity bills. If you run a business and are struggling with energy costs but don’t have the capital to buy photovoltaic panels, they might be able to Help. If your roof is suitable for panels, they could substantially reduce your costs and help the environment at the same time.
The ideal roof is south facing and made of steel. The ideal energy consumption pattern is one where it is mostly used during the day, so the output matches the supply. Sustainable Hockerton could manage the installation and local people are supported in their action to tackle climate change with the distribution of the profits, and educational/motivational information and workshops. The business also benefits with cheap green electricity and good integration with the local area.
If you think we could potentially work together on a roof project please contact Simon Tilley. Hockerton Housing Project manage the community renewables owned by Sustainable Hockerton.
There are many ways we can tackle the oncoming climate crises and ecological catastrophe and I would welcome other ideas and offers of help. Currently we are working on offering workshops on energy conservation and heat camera surveys to help spot energy leaks from your home.
Businesses in Southwell this is an opportunity for you to help save the planet and reduce your energy bills. Please contact Simon Tilley.
I urge you most urgently to support these two amendments to the energy bill 237 and 238. I have been working in the community energy field for a long time and we need to reduce the market barriers for community groups and give them more certainty. From my experience they are key to achieving zero carbon as they not only keep the financial benefits of energy schemes’ local, they also encourage people to reduce their carbon impact. We have a lot to do to keep global warming below catastrophic levels.
Why have community energy schemes recently ground to a halt?
I believe this is largely due to current energy market and licensing rules. The recent Government interventions have been attempted but have failed to reverse the slump in new projects. The “Smart Export Guarantee”, which places a requirement on larger existing electricity suppliers to purchase power from small schemes, has no guaranteed purchase price or length of contract, making community investment almost impossible.
What should be done?
Support the amendments to the Energy Bill numbers 237 and 238.
A Community Electricity Export Guarantee: a right for sites that generate low carbon electricity with a capacity below 5 megawatts to export their electricity to an existing electricity supplier on fair terms (Amendment Number 237).
A Community Electricity Supplier Services Scheme: a requirement on existing larger suppliers to work with community schemes to sell the power they generate to local customers. Existing suppliers can charge a fee for doing this, but that fee must be reasonable (Amendment Number 238).
Here at Hockerton Housing Project we have helped many community groups in the past and if you would like to see some of these you would be most welcome.
In this blog: Learn how to lower energy consumption and drop fossil fuels- what you can do to cut back on energy consumption and find out what it will take to transition from fossil fuels to a greener, more sustainable type of energy – includes useful advice about energy saving for the home.
Society is in the throes of a climate crisis, which is being exacerbated by our overreliance on fossil fuels to provide us with energy. This has caused a spike in the cost of energy for households across the globe, which threatens to leave a huge portion of the population in poverty. To help combat this, society needs to make a number of changes, both big and small, to address these issues and save our planet from a climate change catastrophe. In this article, we’re going to look at how we can save on energy consumption to save our planet.
There are lots of different strategies households can adopt that help them save money on their energy bills by reducing their overall energy consumption. From simple things like switching your older halogen light bulbs to LED bulbs to finding a more affordable energy provider, it’s often small changes that can make the biggest difference when it comes to the price of powering your home.
Ofgem has an excellent resource that households can use to cut costs on energy bills, so it’s well worth looking into their advice and guidance. You might be eligible for government grants and subsidies which can help offset some of the rising energy costs. They also provide clear advice to help you avoid wasting energy in the home, further reducing your energy bills.
The other side of the climate and energy crisis is a much larger challenge to tackle, which is our reliance on fossil fuels instead of investing in renewable energy sources. This type of change requires large-scale, governmental changes to wean entire industries off their reliance on fossil fuels. Without proper investment in things like solar, tidal and wind energy, there simply won’t be sufficient infrastructure to help these industries transition towards renewable sources of energy.
Unfortunately, the push for cleaner, greener energy sources is hampered by lobbyists and those currently in government who are actively looking for ways to keep fossil fuels viable. We already know from IPCC reports that the current fossil fuel reserves cannot all be used if we are to stay safely within a habitable ecosystem. No government should permit any new exploration as it is a waste of time and money. The reality is that these outdated energy sources simply won’t help our fight against climate change or the energy crisis. You can help make sure the government makes the right decisions by taking action.
The best time to invest in renewable energy was a decade ago, but the next best time is right now. It will take some big changes to move away from fossil fuels, but it’s only a matter of time before it’s no longer economically viable for governments to push the fossil fuel agenda. In the meantime, for the average household, the best thing to do to keep the lights on is to cut back on energy consumption and switch to a greener energy source.
The new Hockerton type houses are coming on a pace in Eakring with the 4th out of 9 being plastered as I write. These houses will be the most well insulated in the UK SAP rating 142! The complement very well the “Hockerton House Performance Standard” (HHPS) that we have just trademarked. Please don’t be put off by this. They are free to download and use. We want as many more houses built to the highest standards as possible to help tackle the climate crises. We only ask that out name is referenced in any build project. The HHP standard goes well beyond any current option – the bar has been reset to meet the challenges we face. This contrasts with COP26 as we see below. The standard aims to help and guide you to achieve sustainable housing without fossil fuel input but with community at its heart. Available free of charge from our shop.
I am delighted to report that the eco house in Hockerton that we advertised sold and contracts have been exchanged; sorry if this was an opportunity that you wanted but missed. We had a lot of interest and could have sold the house many times over. It shows there is a market for eco houses that is not being met. The Guardian agrees.
We help make climate friendly housing a reality for people that come to us for help. Here is some resent feedback on our consultancy service.
Absolutely spot on info, thanks very much. You understood exactly what I was getting at with my questions. Just the right amount of detail at this stage for us.
Intrigued to know why you changed your ventilation system fans to computer cooling fans – but that will do for another time. As you say, probably best to stick with a conventional system for now.
All the very best,
Neil
We offer guidance on your current home and new build consultancy service back up with full professional indemnity insurance.
I went to COP26 in Glasgow recently and was very heartened by the enormous numbers of people in the marches supporting action on the climate crises. I think these were under reported.
COP26 Fridays For Future March (Part of the 30 000 attendees)
Not good enough! This all leads to mass extinctions and unparalleled climate shocks.
If we pull together at three levels, we have a chance to avert this catastrophe. Personnel actions, actions in our workplace and persuading the politicians to deliver policies that give us a chance. What can you do? Top tips to save the planet in order of priority:
Write to your MP, the person that represents you, to make the planet safe for you and future generations by removing all fossil fuel subsidies. We must leave fossil fuel in the ground!
Ask your boss what your workplace is doing to tackle the crises. Have they installed renewable energy yet?
Turning the heating down on the thermostat and then add insulation to your house.
There are many more ideas and solutions here and more details on the houses in Eakring here.
