Great Big Green Week: Cosier village halls and money saved across Shropshire thanks to community solar dividend
As the UK’s largest celebration of action to tackle climate change Great Big Green Week gets underway, Shropshire residents have spoken about how they are feeling the benefits of co-operative and community energy schemes.
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Rushbury Village Hall, near Church Stretton, was awarded £6,000 from Shropshire & Telford Community Energy (STCE) Community Benefit Fund for a 20kW rooftop solar system switched on last autumn. This came on top of the acquisition of heat pumps for the village hall, and the fitting of new, airtight doors and windows the previous year.
Grace Sandels, Vice-Chair of the Rushbury Village Hall Management Committee, said the hall had been transformed from ‘nice but cold’ into ‘nice and cosy’ with the help of the community grants.
“STCE guided us through our project to fit new doors and windows, rooftop solar panels and heat pumps to replace our old heating system. It was the lead funder for the whole project.
“Our finances have improved as we now sell to the grid the solar energy that we generate but don’t use: so our monthly electricity bills have come down as well”.
STCE’s Community Benefit Fund is boosted by selling solar power to the grid from its 10MW solar farm at Twemlows, near Whitchurch. To date, it has distributed some £66,000 in grants.
STCE held a share offer in 2023 to take community ownership of Twemlows Solar Farm, which raised £294,000, the first interest payment on which of 6% has just been made. STCE launched a second share offer on Friday 6th June with a target of raising a further £500,000.
Christine Beaver, chair of the Rushbury Village Hall committee, says: “It’s really a win-win. You’re investing in something that is local. You’re investing in renewables which has to be a good thing. Because of the way it’s been done, it pays back to the community”.
Erica Martin and Kelvin Morgan, on the committee of Harmer Hill Village Hall between Shrewsbury and Wem which received a £1000 grant from STCE towards a rooftop solar and battery project, said that in the first two months of the scheme being installed, they did not need to pay one energy bill. “It’s been really efficient,” Morgan says.
Other projects supported by STCE include rooftop solar panels at the Festival Drayton Centre, the refurbishment of the Wellington Orbit cinema, arts and community hub, and upgrades to make Little Wenlock Village Hall zero carbon, most recently by replacing its Calor gas cooker with an electric induction one.
Whitchurch Blackberry Fair, which takes over the town with arts and music events in early October and aims to “save the planet one smile at a time” has been supported by STCE for some years.
STCE has a longer-term objective of distributing around £3 million in community benefit over the next 16 years, including for the setting up of new community energy schemes across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
Meanwhile, the installation of 162 rooftop solar panels at Midcounties Co-op’s store in Copthorne, Shrewsbury last December, with the capacity to generate 58,000 kWh of electricity per year, marked the first of 29 planned solar installs at Midcounties sites in partnership with Shrewsbury-based Big Solar Co-op.
In total, Midcounties aims to cut its electricity bills by around £180,000 per year, and by 2026 reduce its carbon emissions by 40% on 2019 levels.
Mike Pickering, head of sustainability at Midcounties, said: “The partnership between Midcounties and Big Solar Co-op demonstrates the power of co-operation in driving positive change.
“By integrating solar power generation into our operations, we are not only reducing our carbon footprint, but we are also furthering our commitment to building a fairer, more sustainable and ethical future”.
Activities for Great Big Green Week in Shropshire include a repair café session celebrating the power of swapping in Oswestry on Wednesday 11th June from 11am-2pm, and events throughout the week at Church Stretton Library.
On Thursday 12th June, representatives from the Co-op Group, Veolia, St Georges & Priorslee Parish Council and Shropshire Wildlife Trust will be talking to visitors at Lakeside Plant & Garden Centre in Telford about swapping the car to public transport for short journeys, reducing food waste and other sustainable habits.
For more information about Great Big Green Week, visit the website - greatbiggreenweek.com
