Great British Energy grants announced for community projects in Hull and Grimsby
Hundreds of thousands will be invested into these local projects
Key grant awards in community energy projects in Grimsby and Hull have been announced. It is part of the biggest public investment in community energy in history.
The publicly owned company Great British Energy has announced its most extensive tranche yet of community energy projects it is providing funding to. Up to £1bn of new funding is being issued to local energy projects across the country.
Grimsby Community Energy will get £100,000 from Great British Energy to invest in a battery storage system. Meanwhile, £34,500 is to go to Power Hull to help create Hull’s first local energy club where members can buy clean, affordable electricity created locally.
It comes as Great British Energy and the Government are due to publish the Local Power Plan on February 10. This will aim to address barriers currently holding back many community energy projects, from financial and regulatory, to lack of commercial or technical expertise.
Community-owned energy is the norm in other countries. In Germany, around two-fifths of installed renewable energy generation capacity is citizen-owned.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said: “With the biggest ever investment in community energy in Britain’s history, this government is saying to every local community: we want you to be able to own and control clean energy so the profits flow into your community not simply out to the big energy companies.”
Based at Freeman Street Market, Grimsby Community Energy was launched in 2016 to deliver locally owned community energy. It is a not-for-profit cooperative owned and run by local people. In its first eight years of existence, it raised over £894,000 of investment to deliver renewable energy across North East Lincolnshire.
It aims to own 1MW of community-owned solar by 2026. Grimsby Community Energy’s managing director, Vicky Dunn, said: “We are delighted to have received this funding to develop an important new project. In time and like our existing solar projects, we will invite local people and organisations to invest and generate a community benefit fund.”
One of the founders and directors of Power Hull, Adam O’Connell, said of the £34,500 Great British Energy funding it is getting: “We’re using the funding to launch Hull’s first local energy club, where members can buy clean, affordable electricity generated right in their area.
“With energy bills and profits at record levels over recent years, we’re building an alternative which keeps money local, tackles fuel poverty, and strengthens communities in Hull. Working with Cooperation Hull, the club will be governed through people’s assemblies, giving locals real control over their energy use while accelerating the transition to clean energy.”
Power Hull is creating Power Plangeo, an energy local club covering an area including much of HU3 and parts of HU4 and HU5 postcodes. This includes Spring Bank West where it meets Princes Avenue, and the entirety of Boulevard.
An already well-established community energy project locally is North Lincolnshire Community Energy. The social enterprise was formed through a Towns Fund grant to North Lincolnshire Council, and has helped support the installation of solar panels on a range of public sector and community buildings, from schools, to Lindsey Lodge Hospice, to the home of Scunthorpe United.
Director Zach Wishart said: “Since launching just three years ago, North Lincolnshire Community Energy has installed solar PV panels on 23 buildings across Scunthorpe and the surrounding area, the majority schools. Working with North Lincolnshire Council, we leveraged an initial grant and made the money go much further by raising over £1,350,000 from community shares.
“In the last three years we’ve saved our host sites more than £300,000 on their energy bills and expect this to keep increasing for years to come. We are also actively part of a positive movement for education on sustainability, running workshops at our host sites and a wider outreach programme.”