Community Energy and Tackling Climate Change
The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) has committed to address the climate and nature emergency by becoming a net zero organisation by 2030, working with local authorities, communities and landowners to take effective action and become net zero with nature by 2040.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector.
This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen).
The SDNPA has been working with Community Energy South to provide support for the development of community led energy groups and projects throughout the South Downs National Park.
Together we are providing support to establish new community energy groups and help these groups get up and running so that communities can benefit from locally owned renewable energy while helping to reduce the National Park’s carbon emissions.
What is community energy?
Community Energy is when people from all walks of life come together to deliver community-owned renewable energy generation, offer energy efficiency advice, help make it affordable for all and feed profits back into the local area.
Whilst the large energy generators will invest in wind projects and purchase from large commercial developers, communities can play a significant role in Powering Up by establishing their own energy generation projects that may not have appeal to commercial developers and Powering Down by supporting people in the local area to use less energy and or use it more efficiently
Community owned energy projects can have wider benefits too, with local ownership, locals can ensure projects create the most biodiversity possible on their sites, support bees, wildlife and more.
As well as creating more resilience within communities , enabling any profits made by generation projects to be reinvested in the local area and also to create new jobs by building the supply chain for retrofit.
Local authorities within SDNP have a role to play to support local groups to take action and enable communities by working with specific groups in specific areas to unlock access to funding, sites and more.
You can find more information through Community Energy Pathways.