Community environment programmes

 

The Powergen Environment Fund provides £50,000 a year to environmental projects in local communities. The Powergen Environment fund completed its seventh year in 2003 and is managed on our behalf by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (RSNC). The fund invites community groups local to our sites to apply for funding for sustainable environmental projects that they are managing. There are two levels of grants from the fund: local grants up to £1,000 and strategic grants up to £5,000.

The 20 projects supported in 2003 have included hedge planting, a nature trail for the disabled, and a canal clean up and planting programme.

Over £290,000 has been awarded to community environmental projects over the lifetime of the fund.

 

GreenPlan Fund

Powergen's GreenPlan Fund distributes money generated from the GreenPlan tariff and is dedicated to helping communities by implementing renewable energy generation projects. Projects such as this not only help the environment but can also help lower electricity bills for years to come.

Successful applicants from our 2003 round of funding included:

• The University of Nottingham
• The University of Nottingham has added an extra floor and solar panels to its Sustainable Research building thanks to a donation from the Powergen GreenPlan Fund.

A fourth floor has been added to the building after Powergen, the UK's largest integrated energy company, donated £25,000 to the University. And, by fitting photovoltaic solar panels to the new roof, the building can now generate enough electricity in one year to power a PC and printer for over 13 years. In addition, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the environment will be reduced by around four tonnes a year thanks to the new solar panels.

The Sustainable Research building includes a low-energy computer suite, a lecture theatre, studio space and laboratory facilities for the new Institute of Sustainable Technology.

 

Kielder

The £22,000 donation from the Powergen GreenPlan Fund has helped the people of Kielder install a new heating and water system in the village, which sits in the heart of the Northumberland National Park.

The new system, which is powered by dry wood chippings, not only reduces the community's carbon emissions by up to 155 tonnes a year, but will also lower local people's heating bills. In addition to supplying the homes of Kielder, the heating system will also benefit the Castle Visitor Centre, the local school and local businesses.

 

St. James the Great Nursery and Primary School

St. James the Great Nursery and Primary School in Croydon received £5,660 funding from the Powergen GreenPlan Fund for the installation of photovoltaic solar panels. The panels will allow the school to generate around 1,600kWh/year of electricity, as well as supporting the school's heating and water systems.

 

Energy in the Community (EitC)

A three-year regeneration project in a former South Yorkshire mining community drew to a successful close in September 2003.

Since the Energy in the Community project was launched in 2000 in the village of Thurnscoe, more than 2,000 of the 3,700 households in the area registered to receive the benefits.

The project successfully managed to raise awareness of energy efficiency, address fuel poverty in the area and provide funding for initiatives within the community. Powergen worked closely with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Groundwork Dearne Valley on a wide range of projects to deliver benefits to local householders.

The project is estimated to have helped residents save an estimated £13,000 on their energy bills, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1,300 tonnes and water consumption by 8.1 million litres each year.

At the heart of the project was a 'pop-in' Centre, where local residents could get information and advice from our energy efficiency experts and find out about the Staywarm tariff.

There were also grants available to local community groups and more than £10,000 has now been given to help fund energy saving equipment and products.

Other initiatives included special energy weeks held at the two local primary schools to help the children understand the importance of energy efficiency.