Hello, we hope you are well in these mid winter months. Spring bulbs are starting to bud and the days are getting longer (leaving the Dunkleflaute behind for a while!). Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to over the last few months and what to look out for in the future – such as a meet up on April 1st.
Community Energy Fund Findings
In 2024 we applied for a grant from the Government’s Community Energy Fund (CEF) to explore the feasibility of installing batteries at our solar sites and to learn how to assess this ourselves for potential new sites.
We wanted to see if batteries could be used on our sites to enhance our offering. Ultimately, the findings did not point toward batteries as feasible, particularly on existing sites. There’s plenty more detail in the full report which you can read via our website by following this link.
A year of generation at Wellington
On 16th February 2024 our largest solar array to date was switched on at Wellington School in Timperley, Altrincham. Since coming online, the 934 panels have been working hard to generate over 250,000 kWh of power. That’s enough power to charge 13 million phones!
If you have not already seen them, there are some great shots of the Wellington site on our social media pages.
Community Engagement
In December we attended the Greater Manchester Green Summit held at the Lowry in Salford. It was great to be around so many people and organisations who share a passion to change our environment for the better. If you want to help us at future events please get in touch.
Plans for the future
We are ready to go again and help more schools to get solar panels. Discussions are underway with numerous potential locations. Keep an eye in the future for more news in this space!
Fuelling Greater Manchester 6pm 1st April – come and join us!
On Tuesday 1st April we are hosting Fuelling Greater Manchester for the second time. This time we are in the city centre at the newly renovated Renold Building. Come say hello and meet other people who are interested in Community Power. You can find more details through this link.
The first Fuelling Greater Manchester meet-up took place in December in Oldham. We had a great night chatting to people about community energy.
All the very best
Greater Manchester Community Renewables