On the 4th of November 2020, the Bristol Energy Network held its Annual General Meeting online (you can watch on youtube if you missed it!), in which all those involved with BEN were able to reflect on the year’s events and what to look forward to in the coming years. Guest Blog by Felix … Continued
In September, the Government launched the Green Homes Grant. We held an open meeting focusing on this on Tuesday 6th October. You can watch the recording of the meeting on youtube. This blog is by Will Houghton of Bristol Energy Co-operative. What is the Green Homes Grant? The Green Homes Grant offers up to £10,000 … Continued
Bristol Energy Network Virtual Open Meeting – 25th June 2020 Hartcliffe and Withywood Community Partnership (HWCP) co-hosted our second online Open Meeting, where we explored how community buildings can generate their own more sustainable energy and better manage their energy generation and consumption. Caroline Bird, Chair of the BEN Board, chaired the meeting. You can … Continued
What is the future of community energy? To think strategically about our future, we need to understand our history. One part of the history of community energy in England starts with the community energy sector in Germany. Germany was a pioneer in the development of community investment in and ownership of renewable energy generation, and … Continued
City Leap is an ambitious project to make Bristol a zero-carbon, smart energy city by 2030. Through a series of energy and infrastructure investment opportunities it aims to create a healthier and fairer city, create jobs, decarbonise the city and empower residents to take their future into their own hands. Currently, Bristol City Council is … Continued
Report from the Regen event on flexibility, 11th March 2020 by Caroline Bird, BEN Chair This event was one of several across the West where Regen and Western Power Distribution (WPD) are discussing the potential for communities to engage in the energy flexibility markets. The event discussed how local energy flexibility markets currently work and … Continued
Zero West aims to coordinate and accelerate the transition to zero carbon in the West of England region. To inform its work, Tom Stedall and colleagues explored in detail what zero carbon in the West of England would look like. Here he gives us a whistle-stop tour of his research. For the purposes of the … Continued
As we enter a new year and a new decade, what’s on the horizon for community energy?
BEN Director Robert Smart reports from our Energy Transition Conference 2019. Over 140 people came to Bristol Energy Network’s 2019 conference, which was held on a bright autumn afternoon at City Hall. Gathered together was a rich and diverse representation from Bristol’s civic community and representatives from local, regional and national organisations to discuss a … Continued
On a beautiful Autumnal September day around 10,000 people gathered on Bristol’s College Green and marched on the streets in response to the call to protest to demand an acceleration in action at all levels of society and governance. Bristol Energy Network (BEN) was proud to be one of the groups supporting strike action on … Continued