Solar Performance
Exciting News! Generation meter readings taken towards the end of the September 2017 show total solar generation of over 100 MWh since installation across the four sites!

Other news
We spoke at a European Energy Democracy convergence about how we used community shares to raise funds to install solar panels.  They have made a great video about the event.

We also took part in a stakeholder panel on sustainability for Electricity North West (ENW).  ENW look after the electricity cables in the North West area.  They shared updates about the roll out of Smart Meters, and a project they are planning to help people use electricity more efficiently (so that ENW don’t have to upgrade cables to meet increasing demand for electricity).  Good to see they have an incentive to help people look after the environment and their bills!

Fiddlers Lane

It’s official!

The solar installation on the roof of Fiddlers Lane Primary School now belongs to GMCR.

You may recall that GMCR lent Moss Community Energy the money to install solar panels at Fiddlers Lane Primary School. It was always their intention to transfer the site to GMCR and we are pleased to confirm that all the paperwork was completed by GMCR, Moss Community Energy, the school and Salford City Council with effect from 20 June. It’s great that Fiddlers Lane is now formally a GMCR partner.

Welcome Fiddlers Lane!

Solar Performance

It was exciting to see the solar panels working well on the sunny days we had in June and as we approached the longest day of the year. If you have been following us on social media, you will have seen our record day so far…

Generation meter readings taken towards the end of the June 2017 show total generation of 59,657kWh since installation across the four sites, almost triple the amount generated towards the end of March. With The Fuse now generating and the longer days, it has made a big difference! Maybe we’ll be celebrating 100 MWh later this year?

Community
We are working with Manchester Environmental Education Network (MEEN) to amplify the educational benefits of the solar panels on our school sites. In June, MEEN supported Key Stage 1 children at Fiddlers Lane Primary School take part in an environment-themed assembly.

June also saw the start of Community Energy Fortnight, and we took part in a few of the events, including the Community Energy national conference which was held in Manchester this year.

Greater Manchester Community Renewables Ltd is a volunteer led community business which has installed solar panels on three schools and a community centre in our area. We help our site partners save money on their energy bills, whilst also reducing carbon emissions and generating a community fund from our profits to spend on further eco-friendly projects around the sites.

We are recruiting a volunteer Finance Director to strengthen our Board. The right candidate will have a strong finance background and be enthusiastic about helping their community and the environment.

While our day to day bookkeeping is outsourced, this will be a hands on role, as we explore how we can grow. The Board meets once a month either in person or by Skype but this could change depending on circumstances. We also appreciate that when taking on a volunteer role, real life can take over from time to time!

You can find out more about GMCR on our website including our 2016 share offer, which sets out our 20 year financial model. If you are interested, please email info@gmcr.org.uk

Just a quick update for you all on progress so far this year…

Operations

As you may recall, our three school sites were all switched on and our solar arrays were generating last year, but additional work was required to upgrade the substation at The Fuse before we could switch on that installation.  After a long delay at Electricity North West (ENW), we escalated the issue and the work was finally completed and the installation switched on in February.

The Fuse, Partington

Solar Performance

We were delighted to receive our first Feed-in Tariff (FiT) payments last month for the solar electricity we generated in 2016 – it was great to get confirmation that our FiT accounts had been set up properly and to see some income coming into our bank account!

Generation meter readings taken towards the end of March showed total generation to date of 19,976 kWh – so even in the dark and gloomy winter months and with our largest array at The Fuse only coming online in February, our panels have still already generated enough electricity to power 5 average homes for a year and save over 8 tonnes of CO₂!

Engagement

Since our opening event in Irlam, we’ve given a couple more talks; at Bury Green Party and at Manchester Friends of the Earth for their Valentine’s Day “Show the Love” meeting, where we were all showing our love for renewables (see photo below).  We also had a stall at the Darwin Day event organised by the Greater Manchester Humanists, where we met Paul and Eva (a.k.a. Polyp and Schlunke), the author-illustrators of children’s book, Little Worm’s Big Question.

We’ve also helped with a couple of research projects, including a cross European community energy programme, and attended the latest Electricity North West Sustainability Advisory Panel, at which we heard about the latest challenges for the grid due to the greater demands placed on it by both renewable energy generation and increased electricity use, e.g. electric vehicles.

GMCR directors, members and volunteers were joined by staff, children and parents from both Fiddlers Lane Primary School and Irlam Primary School, and the Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, for the opening ceremony of our Irlam sites earlier this week.

Paul Dennett, Mayor of Salford, with pupils from Irlam Primary School and Fiddlers Lane Primary School

Paul Dennett, Mayor of Salford (centre), with Sandra Dutson, GMCR member and volunteer, Sheila Bannon and Ali Abbas, volunteer and Director, Ben Nuttall, Director of NPS Solar and pupils from Irlam Primary School and Fiddlers Lane Primary School

Ann McQuirk, Business Manager and Ian Whitehouse, Building Manager at Fiddlers Lane Primary School introduce their school presentation

Pupils from Irlam Primary school talk about eco-projects at their school

No celebration would be complete without a cake.

The dark winter nights may be drawing in, but there will be a slice of sunshine at the official launch of a community solar scheme for two Salford schools.

On Monday 21st November at 12:30pm at Hamilton Davies House on Liverpool Road, Irlam, the Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, will launch the scheme which has seen almost 60kW of solar panels installed on Irlam and Fiddlers Lane Primary Schools by a local renewable energy society, Greater Manchester Community Renewables (GMCR). The funding for the scheme was raised from local people who bought shares in GMCR, and will help the two schools save money on their electricity bills.

Elaine Darwin, Head Teacher at Irlam Primary School, said, “We are absolutely delighted with the solar panels, which were installed free of charge by GMCR.  Renewable energy spans many aspects of the school curriculum and the solar installation helps to bring this to life – the pupils loved the assembly a couple of weeks ago when the installer explained how the panels were installed.”

Ann McQuirk, Business Manager at Fiddlers Lane Primary School, said, “We were pleased to be able to use our roof to support this project.  Not only will it save us a few pounds on our electricity bills which we can spend on education instead, it will also support the wider community through the profits it generates. ”

The Mayor will launch the scheme with the cutting of a large cake in the shape of the sun. Supported by Salford City Council, it is hoped that there will be future phases of the scheme despite cuts to Government support for solar power.

The Mayor Paul Dennett said, “I am delighted to be able to launch this scheme, which I hope will be the first of many similar schemes here in Salford. Putting the community at the heart of our future energy supply will be absolutely essential in ensuring a quality environment for our children’s future.”

The solar installations were completed over the summer holidays by Oldham based electrical firm, NPS Solar.  Ben Nuttall, Director, said “NPS Solar is proud to have won the contract to work on this community energy project.  Not only will installing solar panels generate more green electricity, it will also generate awareness of the benefits of renewable energy within the local community.”

“We are so grateful for the support of the schools, the Council and, of course, our members who invested.” said Kate Eldridge, a Director of GMCR. “Together we have delivered a project which will not only help to tackle climate change but will also benefit the community and help the next generation learn about solar power.”

ENDS

Note to editors

Greater Manchester Community Renewables Limited (GMCR) is a community benefit society, set up and run by volunteers to install community-owned renewable energy across Greater Manchester.

GMCR has raised £186,000 through a community share offer, funding the installation of solar panels at three schools in Salford, (Irlam Primary School, Fiddlers Lane Primary School and Primrose Hill Primary School) and a community hub in Trafford (The Fuse, Partington).

GMCR projects that overall it will

• Save 50 tonnes carbon dioxide in the first year of operation
• Over 20 years, provide combined energy bill savings of almost £50,000 to the sites
• Generate a total Community Fund of over £50,000 to be used in the areas around the sites for future eco-friendly initiatives

For more information, see: http://www.gmcr.org.uk

We have completed four solar installations over the summer holidays and have submitted the Feed-in Tariff applications.

Fiddlers Lane Primary School – installed in partnership with Moss Community Energy

Primrose Hill Primary School, Salford

Irlam Primary School

The Fuse, Partington

Over the summer holidays our installers have been hard at work installing panels. Here are some photos of the first installations:

After a hectic few weeks of negotiations, we finally got the leases signed on Friday!

This was a crucial step as it meant that we could issue shares and start spending the money that our members have invested.

We wasted no time in making the first payment to our installer, NPS Solar, who are lined up to start work on the first installation next week.

We now have less than two months remaining to install panels on our four sites to meet that all important Feed-in Tariff deadline of 29 September 2016.

So while we’ve reached an important milestone, there is still lots to do before the celebrations can begin!