About this workshop
Choosing Your Energy Future is a workshop for those who are interested in taking a more active role in developing a community energy project in the area. Community ownership means clean energy projects that are designed, owned, and led by local people, with the benefits staying in the community, depending on what’s suitable for your area.
Over the past year, we have focused on listening to the community and understanding local priorities. This workshop is the next step: exploring the technical and practical feasibility of potential community energy locations.
Together, we'll look at technical feasibility, community ownership, financing and governance models, and the central role local people could play in any future project. This does not commit the community to developing these locations but enables informed decision making on whether or not to develop a community energy project.
Any future community energy proposals based on this work will require further community discussion, landlord engagement, technical assessment, landscape assessment, grid connection assessment, financial feasibility and will go through standard planning and regulatory processes.
The workshop includes a free buffet meal with vegan and gluten-free options.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for local residents who have engaged with the process so far. It builds on the discussions, workshops and surveys that have taken place to date. Familiarity with this work will help participants get the most from the session.
If you are interested in attending but have not been involved in the Energy in Your Community process previously, please email us at: energynetwork@bwce.coop so we can get you up-to-date.
You don't require technical expertise to engage - just an interest to learn.
What will happen in the workshop?
During this session, we will:
- Review what we’ve learned so far from earlier events and community feedback
- Explore and discuss potential areas' technical feasibility for a community energy project
- Consider different community-ownership structures and what they could mean for this area
- Identify the roles community members could play in developing and delivering a project, and if there is interest, begin forming a local working group to keep their conversation going
This will be an interactive session with group discussions and opportunities to share your views and shape the next steps.
