A new social enterprise, Communities for Renewables CIC, is being launched to enable communities to generate their own power by developing renewable energy projects. The company has been established by the independent renewables experts Regen SW and specialist developers Green Trust CIC, and will be formally launched to communities at Renewable Energy Marketplace in Exeter on 8 March.
Communities for Renewables has received investment from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to work in partnership with community groups that want to generate their own energy at scale and earn income locally to support community projects. Work has already started with Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network, a town in Cornwall with ambitious plans.
Merlin Hyman, chief executive of Regen SW commented: “We have seen an extraordinary flowering of community groups who want harness their natural resources to generate their own energy and make their communities more resilient and prosperous. Communities for Renewables has been set up to work in partnership with ambitious communities to make these aspirations a reality.”
Jake Burnyeat, managing director of Green Trust CIC commented: “By using a social enterprise business model, Communities for Renewables can provide the finance and expertise needed to enable communities to develop community scale renewable energy projects and earn a significant revenue stream.”
Communities for Renewables has been welcomed by Energy Minister Charles Hendry MP who commented that this is: “just the sort of expertise which I think is going to be necessary, to turn community renewables from being an ambition into reality.”
Energy Minister Charles Hendry MP
More information: : www.communities4renewables