Shropshire and Telford Community Energy (STCE) have won the Highly Commended award for Progress and Expansion from Community Energy England at the recent national CEE awards ceremony in Bristol.
These prestigious annual awards highlight the huge progress in community owned energy throughout England and Wales.
STCE took ownership of Twemlows solar farm, near Whitchurch, in December 2023. The successful community share offer was part of the UK’s largest ever transfer of renewable energy assets into community hands.
STCE worked in partnership with four other community benefit societies as Community Energy Together (CET). Collectively these solar farms added 20% to the total of community owned solar in England and Wales.
Government Minister for Climate, Kerry McCarthy, giving the keynote speech, described community energy as at the heart of government energy policy. On her appointment, her first job was to show Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero) the popular, 100% community owned 4.2 MW wind turbine in Bristol. The Local Electricity Bill to allow communities to benefit from power produced in their local areas is to be reintroduced into Parliament soon.
STCE’s award was for bringing the Twemlows solar farm into community ownership to deliver community benefits across Shropshire. STCE are also working on a heat and wind scheme in Bishop’s Castle with local partners and will soon be submitting a planning application for a 1MW wind turbine as part of that project. Locally generated power and heat are particularly important for Shropshire’s net zero targets.
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