Social enterprises team up to bring community power to Acomb
Three of York’s leading social innovators are teaming up to design a community-owned solar power station in the heart of Acomb, after a successful funding bid to the North East & North Yorkshire Community Energy Fund.
York Community Energy has partnered with the Lowfield Green Housing Co-op and YorSpace, York’s Community Land Trust, to explore how a new 19-dwelling development with communal facilities could run off solar energy generated onsite for much of the year.
The Lowfield Green project, which started building onsite last summer, was initiated by YorSpace back in 2016. The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith visited the site last September.
James Neward, YorSpace; Rich Lane and Jeremy Appleyard From York Community Energy; and Henry Essex from Lowfield Green Housing Co-op at the Lowfield Green building site.
YorSpace is building affordable, energy efficient community-owned homes in Acomb which will be managed by the residents of Lowfield Green Housing Co-op. While the homes are designed to require very little energy to heat, residents will still need electricity for daily necessities such as hot water, lighting, and a shared electric car pool, as well as some heating. Thanks to a successful bid to the Community Energy Fund, the team has launched a feasibility study in partnership with York Community Energy. The project will explore how energy from shared solar panels across the roofs of the development can be pooled and stored site-wide – helping the community to run off the energy generated as much as possible. When more energy is generated than is needed by the residents, this can be exported, helping to decarbonise the local grid.
James Neward from YorSpace said: “We want the homes we’re building at Lowfield Green to act as a blueprint for a better way of building sustainable communities. That includes not only tackling the impact of spiralling house prices but how we transition to renewable solutions to meet our energy needs. We’re really pleased to be able to bring York Community Energy on board to support the resident group in exploring community owned energy”
Future Lowfield Green Housing Co-op resident Catriona McCallion said “I’m so excited about this project. Living sustainably is so important to me and my family. We think we can do that more equitably and efficiently by working together to generate and use our own energy at a community rather than a household level. ”
The site will be built without a fossil-fuel gas network, meaning that all heating needs will be met using electricity, through technologies such as heat pumps. This project therefore provides the promise of a truly fossil-free community in York.
Richard Lane, a Director of York Community Energy said: “It’s very rare to have the opportunity to build something with people who are prepared to think radically and who can work together to rethink their energy use. It opens up a lot of possibilities, which we are hugely excited to be exploring together.”
The project is now well under way, involving technical work, led by community energy specialist consultants Scene, and detailed consultation with the members of Lowfield Green Co-op. As a co-operative, the future residents will have the final say in what solution will be used.
