Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) is supporting homes, schools and communities across North East Somerset to cut fuel bills and reduce their environmental impact

BWCE is a local, not for profit community enterprise focused on tackling climate change and alleviating fuel poverty. They are the lead partner in Green Open Homes B&NES which is helping residents to make their home more comfortable and reduce fuel bills by enabling them to visit homes that have already made improvements and talk to energy efficiency experts.

Following successful June events in East Harptree and Chew Stoke, more Green Open Homes are lined up for the Autumn:

  • Sat September 14 - Pensford, Belluton and Norton Malreward. A number of open homes plus eco-friendly gardens.
  • Sat September 21– Peasedown St John. An event at the Hive Community Centre showcasing energy saving measures and sustainable living plus some open homes, in association with Peasedown Environment Group.
  • Sat October 19 – Radstock. An event at The Trinity Hub to help homeowners and renters make their homes more energy efficient and affordable to run, in association with Radstock Town Council.

BWCE’s highly successful rooftop solar programme has installed solar panels on the roofs of a number of schools in North East Somerset, including Writhlington, Somervale, Norton Hill, St John’s (Midsomer Norton) and St Mary’s (Timsbury). Solar panels have also been installed at Dragonfly Leisure Centre in Midsomer Norton. There is a growing pipeline of rooftop solar projects and suggestions for more roofs are welcome.

BWCE donate surplus income from renewable generating projects to an independent community fund which has provided grants to 101 community projects since 2015, with some recent grants going to Bishop Sutton Village Hall, Friends of Marksbury School PTA, SWALLOW, Keynsham Community Energy and More Trees for B&NES.

The not-for-profit enterprise are developing community renewable projects such as community scale solar and wind projects to meet national and local climate change and energy security targets.

One example of this is Fairy Hill Solar Farm in Compton Dando which is currently at planning application stage. If the project goes ahead it will generate renewable energy equivalent to the annual use of 580 average homes and reduce emissions by 508 tonnes of CO2 per year (equivalent to 1,180 people’s average annual emissions from driving).

Whilst providing enough clean power for the whole of the parish area, the project does not involve any loss of agricultural land as it can still be used for grazing. The site will also see significant biodiversity improvements, providing a rich habitat for bees and other pollinators, and two thirds of the field will be opened up to provide new permissive access and community amenities suggested by local residents.

A community benefit pot of £5000 per year will be available for local community projects (significantly more per acre than purely commercial schemes) and local people will be able to invest in the project and become voting members of BWCE, receiving an annual interest payment (currently 5%).

For more information on Bath & West Community Energy, visit www.bwce.coop