Forest Row Energy and their new partners Brighton and Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) and Emerson College are celebrating their successful funding award from the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF). The £20,000 award will be used to fund a renewable energy feasibility study at the College.
The study, which will be managed by Forest Row Energy and delivered in partnership with BHESCo and technical experts from Rina Consulting, will investigate the feasibility of a campus wide renewable energy network for Emerson College. It will focus on reducing oil consumption for space and hot water heating and also on producing energy for electricity.
The technologies that will be investigated will include district heating that utilises a central biomass boiler with a heat network to supply buildings with heat and hot water, ground source heat pumps, solar photovoltaics and solar thermal.
The study will include consultation with everyone that is connected with the College and anyone from the wider community who is interested in the project. The consultation will explain the options that are being looked at and make sure that feedback and comments are considered. The study will also include the development of a funding plan for any technologies that are found to be feasible.
Esmé Michelle Wild, Director of Funding and Project said ‘This is an exciting project that will look to benefit the college, the wider community and reduce our local carbon footprint. It will develop the local community, renewable energy sector that puts the power of energy back into the hands of local people.
The plan is to create a local educational resource that demonstrates community energy generation and renewable energy technologies particularly in rural areas that are not connected to mains gas.’
If you are interested in this project and would like to support the community energy movement in Forest Row and the surrounding towns and villages, please consider becoming a member of Forest Row Energy. Find out more at www.forestrowenergy.com/join-us
If you would like to keep up to date with the project and receive an invitation to consultation events as part of the Emerson College project please email forestrowenergy@gmail.com and put ‘Keep in touch with Emerson College Project’ in the subject header.
For more information on RCEF, visit www.wrap.org.uk/renewables