GMCR has signed up to the Green Alliance Clean Energy Declaration: We Want Clean Energy to Power the North. It concludes “the 2016 Budget must enable us to develop and grow renewables for our region into the 2020s. The UK government should be celebrating clean energy as core to its economic plan. To cherish what we love about our region and reassert our place in the forefront of the world’s economy, we ask the Chancellor to back clean energy for the North.”
Ali Abbas, one of our directors, had a letter published in the Manchester Evening News regarding the GM Energy Pledge (http://gm-communityenergypledge.org.uk/)
The people of Greater Manchester are being asked to show their love for locally-owned clean energy by signing a new community energy pledge.
The pledge is online at http://gm-communityenergypledge.org.uk/
Community energy groups from across Greater Manchester have come together to launch the pledge on a website ahead of Valentine’s Day to rally public support for clean energy projects which are run for the benefit of the community rather than for private profit. Members of the public who sign the pledge will be kept informed about the progress of the different schemes, and will be given the chance to invest in the projects as they are launched.
Members of the public who sign the pledge will be kept informed about the progress of the different schemes, and will be given the chance to invest in the projects as they are launched.
Ali Abbas from Greater Manchester Community Renewables said:
“In Paris, governments promised to cut carbon emissions, but the policies they have put in place are not enough. It’s up to communities to take action ourselves to make the changes we need to happen.
“Greater Manchester was the birthplace of the industrial revolution and we want it to be at the forefront of the clean energy revolution too. We are proud of our heritage and hope that people will support these modern day Pioneers.”
David Cullen from Moss Community Energy said:
“Despite all the government cuts to support for clean energy, lots of Greater Manchester community energy projects are planning to launch in 2016. Rather than competing with each other, we decided to come together on a joint platform to support each other.
“The pledge is a way of saying that, whatever the government does in the short term, clean energy is the road to the future and our projects will put communities in the driving seat.”
The Paris agreement on Climate Change commits governments to pursue policies which will limit global temperatures, but despite being a signatory the UK government has cut support for renewable power while bringing in tax breaks for oil companies. However, the groups involved in the pledge are pressing ahead with their plans for community-owned renewable energy in Greater Manchester and believe they have public opinion on their side.
Money to fund the different projects will be raised through the issue of community shares, and any financial surplus made after investors have been paid back will be available for initiatives which benefit local communities.
As world leaders gather in Paris to negotiate an international climate deal, Greater Manchester Community Renewables and Salford City Council signed an agreement on the 4th December to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by installing solar panels on a number of schools across Salford. [1]
Greater Manchester Community Renewables (GMCR) was formed by a group of volunteers in January 2015. [2] With the support of a government grant [3], the group has been developing an exciting and innovative project to install solar panels on schools and community buildings across Greater Manchester.
GMCR aims to raise up to £250,000 from a community share offer to fund the installation of solar panels. The schools will get electricity generated by the panels at a discounted rate; members of the public who invest will receive annual interest payments; and any surplus profits will go into a community fund to support local carbon reduction and environmental education projects.
The co-operation agreement, which was signed by City Mayor Ian Stewart, means GMCR and Salford City Council will work together to identify suitable sites, consult with local communities, and give people who live or work in Salford the opportunity to invest in the project.
Kate Eldridge, DIrector of GMCR, said:
“We are really pleased to be working together with Salford City Council to bring solar panels to Salford’s schools Not only will this help schools save money on their electricity bills, it will also help children learn more about energy and climate change.”
GMCR will soon be launching a share offer to raise funds for the project. Members of the public are being encouraged to register their interest at www.gmcr.org.uk if they would like to receive a copy of the share offer when it is ready.
Along with numerous other community energy groups we have signed a letter to the Chancellor opposing the government’s proposed changes to EIS and SITR, which allow investors in community energy projects to claim tax relief. You can read the text of the letter here.
As you can see from previous posts, the Feed-in Tariff is an important source of income for producers of green energy, and it’s taking a beating at the moment! GMCR will be submitting a response to the Government’s latest proposals.
We also encourage you to make your voice heard in support of renewable energy.
You can do this by:
Thanks in advance for your support. It’s much appreciated.
The Government has published its response to the consultation to remove pre-registration and pre-accreditation confirming that these will be removed with effect from 1 October 2015.
Following this confirmation and the Government’s announcement last month that it plans to cut the Feed in Tariff (FiT), September saw a period of intensive activity for GMCR. The good news is that we have managed to pre-register 5 sites!
Thank you very much to Salford City Council for their co-operation, and to the forward thinking schools in Salford and the social enterprise in Trafford who agreed to work with us.
We can’t name names yet as we still have to do detailed feasibility and discuss the detail with the sites – but in the face of adversity, a great result.
The Government is planning to slash the amount of funding available for clean energy schemes, which helps millions of people benefit from solar, wind and water power, whilst still supporting the investment in fossil fuels such as fracking and oil and gas as well as nuclear power.
The plans are proposing to cut the Feed in Tariff (FIT), the payment renewable energy generators receive for producing green electricity, by up to 90% from January 2016. This will make many community owned schemes unworkable meaning schools, churches and community groups will not be able to produce their own renewable energy, which would help cut their bills and support communities to be self sufficient in energy in Manchester.
If the Government is serious about tackling climate change, enabling communities to develop their own businesses, and growing the green economy, it needs to support renewables ahead of fossil fuels. We would urge anyone who supports green energy to join the campaign at http://keepfits.org/
Greater Manchester Community Renewables
GMCR has submitted a response to the DECC consultation to remove pre-accreditation. We have urged the Government to retain this facility, particularly for community groups.
A couple of weeks after this consultation closed, another commenced, proposing to slash the Feed-in Tariff payable for generators of clean energy with effect from 1 January 2016. Payments for installations such as schools could be slashed from 11.3p to 3.69p for each unit of clean energy produced, or even removed altogether.
If the Government is serious about tackling climate change, enabling communities to develop their own businesses, and supporting a growing UK industry, it needs to support renewables ahead of fossil fuels.
The good news – our UCEF grant application was successful!
Not so good news – DECC have launched a consultation to remove pre-registration and pre-accreditation with effect from 1 October 2015. These are the facilities that allow community groups to lock in the Feed in Tariff (FiT) , the payment renewable energy generators receive for producing green electricity, at the time they have identified a site. Locking in a FiT rate before seeking investment from the community provides a level of certainty to those people thinking of investing. This helps give assurance during the process to raise the money from the community required to pay for the installation of the panels.
