A Greater Manchester energy cooperative which helps people and communities cut their carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, is taking to the airwaves to spread its message further – thanks to support from Electricity North West.
Carbon Co-op will produce a series of podcasts called Power in the City, that will tell the stories of how local people are changing their relationship with energy.
The podcasts have been made possible thanks to a £14,850 grant from Electricity North West’s Empowering Our Communities scheme.
The episodes will include stories of simple changes people have made in their homes and local area to adjust how they use energy, or how they got involved in community energy schemes which generate low-carbon electricity that is distributed locally.
The aim is to inspire more people to change the way they think about their energy use and to give a voice to people whose opinions aren’t often heard in the energy debate to help decarbonise the energy system.
Laura Williams, engagement officer at Carbon Co-op, said: “Technological change has opened up new opportunities for how we can do energy.
“When the energy system was first set-up, the public were cast as passive consumers of energy. Today we need not be confined in this way.
“Energy generation sources like solar panels can now be based in the heart of local communities, electric vehicle chargers can serve essential shared needs and homes can become smarter by reducing what we need and enable us to use energy at times that match up with clean power production.
“The COVID-19 crisis has already shown us how large-scale problems can be effectively tackled through local forms of cooperation, mutual aid and community level relationships.
“These podcasts will explore how the changing energy landscape can allow citizens and communities to build on these relationships, tackle climate change together and imagine what an energy system owned and controlled collectively could look like.”
The podcasts will go live on a range of platforms in April next year and it is hoped each episode will reach 10,000 people.
Helen Seagrave, community energy manager at Electricity North West added: “We want to get people talking about energy and raise awareness of the ways we can all reduce our carbon footprint, so it’s fantastic to be able to support the Power in the City podcasts.
“Our Empowering our Communities Fund takes applications from community groups across the north west who aim to tackle energy-related issues at a local level, especially those that want to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Groups can apply for up to £15,000 for projects that engage local communities in energy issues or support the development of a community energy project.
“The fund will be re-opening later this year so keep an eye out on the website for more information.”
Electricity North West is calling for those living or working in the region to have their say on its plans as part of its biggest ever customer engagement programme. Anybody interested in getting involved can visit www.pluggingin.co.uk for more details.
